Smoke Without Fire
by Tricia Belle
Summary: Riley is in charge of her family's bakery for the summer while Lucas is in Texas for an internship. With it being their first summer apart, they find it hard to make time for each other due to their busy schedules. Will their relationship be able to withstand the distance, or will obstacles lead to their downfall?
1. Chapter One

**Hi everyone! I'm very excited to share my new fic with you. It's different from my previous Rucas fics and I'm really happy with it. I have the majority of this story written, so updates should be pretty frequent as I revise next chapters.**

 **Also, just heard the news that there will be no S4. Not sure how I feel about it.**

* * *

Chapter One

"You've only been gone for couple of days but it already feels like it's been weeks," Riley sighed, resting her elbow on the counter at her family's bakery as she held her phone to her ear. She was on the phone with her long-time boyfriend, Lucas. They had been dating for a couple of years now, and it was their first summer apart since they got together.

"The summer will be over as soon as you know it," Lucas promised. He was back in his hometown of Austin, Texas, for the summer. He got the opportunity to intern for a well-known veterinarian thanks to his Pappy Joe. Of course he jumped at the offer, with him wanting to become a veterinarian himself. He was reluctant to leave Riley behind, though, even if it was just for a couple of months.

"It better be, I don't know how I'll survive without you," Riley said.

"Well you have my cousin Sienna there with you," Lucas reminded his girlfriend. "It'll be like I'm there too."

"Sure, Sienna's a sweetheart," Riley commented. She eyed a teenager across the room with long blonde hair and green eyes similar to Lucas's. Sienna had just recently moved to New York after finishing her sophomore year of high school back in Austin. Sienna was sitting at a booth with one of the bakery employees, informing Sienna about the basics of the job. "But she's not you, Lucas. You both may be Friars but you're my boyfriend. It's not like I can do couple-y things with her."

Lucas laughed, "Fair enough. I'm just saying you'll have Sienna to keep you company. It was nice of you to hire her at the bakery, by the way."

"Of course," Riley replied. "She's doing her orientation right now. Maya will be training her in a couple of days."

"I wish I could be there to help her adjust to New York," Lucas said.

"Don't worry about her," Riley said. "I'll take good care of her."

"I know you will," Lucas replied. "You helped me survive my first year in New York, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," Riley nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her.

The front door of the bakery opened and Riley's mother walked in with a young man. Riley immediately shifted her attention to Topanga and this stranger.

"My last interview is here," Riley informed her boyfriend. "I'll call you soon, okay?"

"Of course," Lucas said. "I'm really proud of you, by the way. I know you'll do a great job managing the bakery."

"Thank you," Riley replied. "But I'm even more proud of you! You're a step closer to your dream career."

"I love you," Lucas gushed. He was so lucky to have such a supportive girlfriend. Though Riley wouldn't admit it to him, she was reluctant to let him take the offer. But she knew she couldn't get in the way of his dreams.

"I love you too," Riley returned.

"Don't forget to call me, alright?" Lucas said. Before Lucas had left, the two had planned to make time for each other as much as they could. They promised they'd text each other all the time and call each other often.

"Of course," Riley said. "Enjoy the rest of your day, babe."

"You too," Lucas said. "Bye, bean."

"Bye," Riley said. She moved the phone away from her ear and ended the call before stuffing it in the front pocket of her jeans. She sighed and grabbed the clipboard that rested on the counter.

"Riley, Evan's here," Topanga said as she approached the counter with the stranger. He had curly hair and a chiseled jaw line. He had the nicest brown eyes Riley's ever seen. But then again, Riley was a sucker for green eyes.

Riley looked down at her clipboard and went through the list of names. She found Evan's name and put a checkmark beside it.

"Hi, Evan," Riley greeted, offering her hand. "I'm Riley."

"Hello," Evan shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Now Riley here is my daughter," Topanga informed the boy. "She'll be taking over the bakery for the summer because she wants some practice managing the place. She wants to start her own business someday."

"Oh, nice," Evan said, bobbing his head in interest.

"I've looked over Evan's resume and it's pretty impressive for someone his age," Topanga told Riley. "But also don't let me influence your decision. It's up to you to decide if you want him as your assistant manager."

Riley nodded at her mother. She was very grateful that Topanga trusted her enough to put the bakery in her hands for a couple of months. Topanga was proud that Riley took the initiative to watch the bakery when she noticed that Topanga was struggling balancing being a lawyer and owning a bakery. And it didn't help that their regular manager, Katy, was off traveling the world with her husband Shawn for the summer.

"This way, Evan," Riley gave Evan a friendly smile as she gestured for him to follow her. She led him into the back where the office was located. She offered him a seat as she sat at the desk. Riley went through a couple of folders on the desk until she found one with Evan's name on it and his resumé inside.

The interview went rather well. Since Riley knew Evan's work history, she spent the time asking questions that showed what kind of personality he had, and as well as his worth ethics. If she wasn't already impressed by his resumé, she was even more impressed with the answers he gave. One of the questions asked Evan what he would do in a situation where he had to deal with an angry customer, a question that Riley believed wasn't answered well enough by the previous people she interviewed earlier that day. Evan's answer showed how much he valued customer service and that he had a way with words that helped people resolve a conflict.

"Wow," Riley said, stunned. "That was the best answer I've heard all day."

Evan chuckled, "Thank you."

"So that was my last question for you," Riley replied, jotting down notes on her paper. She quickly looked it over as the room fell silent for a couple of minutes. After an internal debate with herself, she finally came to a decision. She looked up at the young man, "Evan?"

"Yeah?"

"Congratulations, you're hired!"

* * *

A couple of days later, Riley's best friend, Maya, helped her open Topanga's. Since Katy was gone for the summer with Shawn, Maya offered to help at the bakery in her absence. But really, Maya only offered because she was going to be at the bakery a lot anyway since Riley would be there every day. She thought it would be a bonus to be getting paid for hanging out with her best friend.

"I'm gonna get the paperwork and do them in the front," Riley announced as they entered the bakery.

"Aw, so you can keep me company while I set things up!" Maya gushed.

"Yes, Peaches," Riley laughed. She disappeared to her office and reappeared a couple of seconds later with some folders in her hands. She placed the folders on the counter and went through the opening checklist.

As Riley did her paperwork, Maya went ahead and wiped down the tables. When Maya was finished, she headed to the kitchen to put some pastries in the oven and make batter for other baked goods. The employees in charge of the kitchen weren't scheduled for another thirty minutes, so Maya decided to help them out a little.

"I don't know why you needed to hire an assistant manager," Maya said as she returned to the front of the bakery with some freshly baked croissants and muffins. "You should've just hired me instead."

"You know I love you, Maya, but we both know you wouldn't want to take on the extra responsibility," Riley replied truthfully, walking over to the blonde, who was placing the food in the display cases.

"Yeah, I know," Maya agreed with a chuckle, giving her best friend a quick hug.

"Besides, if you were assistant manager you'd be too busy to help keep me sane," Riley pointed out.

"And that's a full time job in itself," Maya nodded jokingly.

As Riley helped Maya with more food in the kitchen, the employees knocked on the front door. Hearing it from the kitchen, Riley rushed out to open the door for them. Among the employees were the bakers, Bailey and Carissa, and the servers and cashiers, Lucy, Ben, and Sienna.

Bailey, Carissa, Lucy, and Ben all respectively went to do their usual tasks, while Sienna stayed with Riley.

"It's your official first day, are you excited?" Riley asked the teenager.

"I am," Sienna nodded with a grin. "I can't wait to spend the summer with you! Lucas has said nice things about you."

"Well, I sure hope so," Riley laughed. "I am his girlfriend after all. And I'm excited to spend the summer with you, too. You're the only person in his family I've met other than his parents and Pappy Joe."

"You'll probably meet my parents soon," Sienna informed her. "They want to come by one day to see how I'm doing here."

"Can't wait to meet them," Riley smiled. She clapped her hands together. "Okay, so today we're going to start your training. Maya's going to train you. I'm sure Lucas has mentioned her to you as well."

Sienna nodded, "He said she scares him. And that he feels that she threatens your relationship because you guys are best friends."

Riley couldn't help but giggle. Riley knew that Lucas felt that Maya sometimes got in the way of their relationship, but she wasn't aware that he was scared of her. Maya wasn't scary, but then again, Riley knew her better than anyone else in the world.

"I heard my name," Maya said as she approached the two girls. She eyed Sienna and immediately identified her as Lucas's relative. "You must be Sienna."

"And you're Maya," Sienna said. "Lucas is very scared of you, even more scared than he was of Tombstone the bull."

Maya smirked, "I knew I got to that Huckleberry."

"Maya," Riley said sternly.

"What?" Maya responded. Riley gave her a look. "Oh, sorry. I know he's your boyfriend and all but I just love teasing him. He thinks my opinion of him is going to change yours. Like no, does he not realize how in love you are with him? Not even I can hold you back from him."

Riley blushed and rolled her eyes.

"Okay," Riley said as she pushed Sienna and Maya to a booth. "Work starts now. Maya, teach her everything you know."

"Alright, Riley," Sienna nodded. She teased, "We can talk about how much you _love_ my cousin later."

Riley's cheeks flushed once again, "Yeah, sure, Sienna. You can tell me embarrassing stories about him from your guys' childhood."

"Of course! I have plenty," Sienna said with a grin.

"I wanna hear them too!" Maya chimed in. "I need new material to work with."

Riley shook her head with a chuckle, "Fine, Maya. The sooner you train Sienna, the sooner we get to hear his mutton busting stories."

"I have a lot of those," Sienna said, laughing to herself.

"Then get to work, ladies!" Riley said as she walked back to the counter.

* * *

Riley sat at her desk in the office. She had her arm propped up on the desk with her chin resting in her hand. In her other hand, she gripped her phone and it had a photo of her and Lucas on the screen. She sighed. The summer just began and he literally left just a week and a half ago, yet Riley couldn't help but feel separation anxiety kick her in the face. They'd been attached at the hip ever since the day they officially got together. The thought of not seeing each other for months annoyed Riley to no end. She wasn't sure how she was going to get through the next couple of months without him by her side.

"Riley," Maya said as she walked into the room. There was no response from Riley, as she stared lovingly at her phone. Maya was able to walk across the room and stand behind Riley without the brunette even noticing. She shook her head. She knew Riley missed Lucas, but she didn't realize how much she did until she saw Riley swipe to another photo of just Lucas and tried to kiss her screen. "Riley!"

This time Riley snapped out of her daze. She shook her head and her eyes grew wide when she realized someone else was in the room with her. She felt her cheeks turn a light shade of pink and was too embarrassed to ask her best friend if she had been there the whole time.

"I saw everything," Maya chuckled as she folded her arms across her chest.

Riley dropped her phone lightly on the desk and then slid down into her seat. Maya shook her head and walked around the desk to sit in front of her. She allowed Riley to sulk in her embarrassment for a little bit before she spoke up.

"You're disgustingly cute, you know that?" Maya scrunched her face.

"Shut up," Riley pouted. "I just miss him."

"I know you do, honey," Maya replied. "But I don't think you should be spending your summer moping around when you've got a lot of work to do."

"It's our first summer apart," Riley informed her. She sat upright. "If you and I were separated—"

"No, no," Maya wagged a finger in front of Riley. "That's never going to happen. Ever."

Riley sighed with a smile, "Yes, but if—"

"Riley, we talked about this," Maya waved her off. "When you get married to Lucas and I get married to your Uncle Boing, we're going to be neighbors."

"Are you and Uncle Josh even together?" Riley huffed. Maya had a crush on Riley's uncle ever since she was thirteen. Josh began to show interest in the blonde a couple of years later, but the three-year age different made him reluctant to start an official relationship.

"Actually, yes we are," Maya responded with a proud smirk. This took a few seconds for Riley to process, but once she did, her brown eyes grew wide.

"Peaches! Why didn't you tell me?!" Riley snapped. She slammed her hands on the desk, then she looked off to the side, "Why didn't Uncle Josh tell me?!"

"Calm down," Maya said, covering her hands with hers. "It's only been a few weeks. We both tried to tell you but you were too busy spending time with Lucas before he left."

"Well, can you blame me?"

"No, I can't," Maya shook her head. "Don't be mad it took me this long to tell you."

"I'm not mad," Riley replied. "I'm happy for you! Gosh, I'm totally looking forward to the day you become my aunt. You're already technically my cousin, so this is weird…"

"What's weird is your father could be my brother-in-law," Maya scrunched her face in disgust. She was very fond of Cory, being the father of her best friend and all, as well as being a father figure to her since she was seven, but the thought of possibly being his sister was strange to her.  
"But anyway. Huckleberry. Don't be sad about him okay? You guys both know distance won't change a thing between you two. When he comes home it'll be like he never even left."

Riley stood up, "You're right, Maya. He and I are stronger than this. Sure, I miss him like crazy but that's normal, right?" Maya nodded. "I'll still be able to talk to him, which is the important thing. Meanwhile, I have a bakery to run!"

"That's my girl," Maya put a fist in the air as she stood up.

Riley marched out of the office with Maya in tow. They stood at the side of the front counter as Riley looked at the schedule that indicated when the employees' breaks would be. She then looked around the bakery until her eyes landed on Sienna. Sienna was following Bailey around, learning how to do her job.

"You done training her?" Riley inquired as she pointed at Sienna with the pen in her hand.

"Yup," Maya replied. "She caught on quick. Then Bailey offered to help her with the hands-on training."

Riley nodded, "I'm impressed with Bailey. She's been doing really well lately. Once Sienna's comfortable with the position I might promote Bailey."

"She's great," Maya agreed. "My mom said Bailey's a really hard worker. I think she deserves it."

"Well, that's settled then," Riley jotted down notes on a separate page on her clipboard. "Alright, so I think this would be a good time for Sienna to have her break. Call her over for me?"

Maya nodded and walked towards Sienna and Bailey, then quickly returned with Sienna by her side.

"Time for your break!" Riley said, putting an arm around Sienna and leading her to the break room. She looked back at Maya as they walked away, "Maya, you're in charge for the hour."

"Wow, really?" Maya raised a brow. "Maybe you should promote me too!"

"Maybe," Riley laughed. "You could always be a co-assistant manager."

"Thought you didn't want me to have more responsibility?" Maya reminded her.

"We'll talk about this later," Riley waved her off.

Once in the break room, Riley sat at the table as Sienna was looking through her bag. Sienna sighed with a frown and Riley quickly took notice. She turned to look at her boyfriend's cousin.

"Sienna, you alright?" Riley asked.

"Yeah," Sienna nodded, "I just forgot my lunch."

"No worries," Riley waved her hand, inviting Sienna to sit beside her. She took her phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. "I'll order food. You good with Chinese?"

"Yeah, I love Chinese food," Sienna replied with a smile.

"I know," Riley returned. "Lucas loves it too."

Riley ordered Chinese food and asked for input from Sienna on what to order. While they waited for their food to arrive, Riley took the time to get to know Sienna better. She learned that Sienna was an only child like Lucas, and she was a skilled guitarist. What impressed Riley even more was that Sienna owned a few bunnies back in Texas. Riley had found a lot in common with Sienna, and she was glad they got along. Every time she met a family member of a friend or significant other, she was always feared that she wouldn't get along with them.

"You're so much more fun than Lucas," Riley said as she took food containers out of a paper bag. The Chinese food delivery guy had just left, and Sienna was ecstatic to see the food.

"Don't flatter me," Sienna replied as she helped Riley set out the food. She winked, "You know you have more fun with Lucas."

"Oh god," Riley said with a scrunched face. "What do you know?"

"Nothing," Sienna innocently responded. "You guys have been together for a while. It's inevitable."

"Okay, let's not talk about my love life anymore," Riley said, leaning away from Sienna. "I'm uncomfortable."

"Alright," Sienna said, shrugging. "Wanna hear those embarrassing Lucas stories now then?"

"Duh," Riley said a little too enthusiastically.

As the two began to eat, Sienna felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She took her phone out and saw that it was just a message. It was a text from Lucas asking how she was doing. Sienna quickly tapped on her phone to send a reply ignoring his question and asking if he was free at the moment. Within seconds, Lucas replied.

"Hey, Riley, can I borrow your laptop?" Sienna turned to the brunette as she stuffed her face with fried rice.

"Mhm," Riley nodded with her mouth full. She swallowed, "It's in the office."

"Thanks," Sienna smiled as she got up. She quickly left the room and returned moments later with Riley's laptop. She turned it on and let Riley type in her password.

"What do you need it for?" Riley asked.

"Wait," Sienna instructed, turning the screen away from Riley. Minutes later, she turned the screen so that both her and Riley could see. Riley's face lit up as she realized they were on a video call with her significant other.

"Lucas!" Riley yelled, moving her face closer towards the screen.

"Babe!" Lucas returned the genuine excitement. "I texted Sienna to see how she was doing. I didn't realize you'd be with her. I assumed you'd be busy."

"Hi to you too, cousin," Sienna reminded the two of her presence.

"Hi Sienna," Lucas waved through the screen.

"I was busy," Riley nodded. "But I decided to schedule my break with Sienna so we could bond."

"And how is that going for you girls?"

"I love her!" Sienna declared, attacking Riley with a hug. Once they parted, she pointed a finger and leaned closer towards the laptop. "If you don't marry her, I will never let you live it down."

Riley chuckled in the background, flattered that Sienna thought so highly of her already even though it was their first time really getting to know each other.

"Calm down," Lucas held his hands, palms out, in front of him. "I intend on marrying her someday. Just not now, not when she and I are both still in school."

"So what I'm hearing is, you're gonna ask me to marry you?" Riley cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

"Someday," Lucas whispered.

"You guys are adorable," Sienna gushed. She gestured to her noodles that sat in front of her and turned to Riley, "Thanks for the lunch, by the way, Riles."

"Oh, no problem," Riley replied.

"Oh," Lucas raised both eyebrows. "You guys are having Chinese food without me? How rude."

"Oh hush, babe," Riley said. "Let us have this moment."

Lucas nodded, "I'm glad you two are getting along. How's your first day, Sienna?"

"It's been pretty chill," Sienna replied. "Maya taught me the technical stuff earlier and then Bailey was helping me with some customers. The customers were pretty understanding that I'm still a trainee."

"When I get back you better give me some good customer service," Lucas said.

"I will, don't worry," Sienna confirmed.

"By the way, Riles, if you're on break, who's supervising right now?" Lucas asked.

"Maya is," Riley said with a mouthful of food. This made Lucas laugh to himself, noting how cute his girlfriend was even when she was stuffing her face with food.

"Oh really? Do you trust her to be running things?" Lucas pressed.

Riley nodded and furrowed her brows. She swallowed her food before saying, "Of course I trust her, Lucas. Her mom's been managing the bakery for years, she's learned a lot from her. Don't be _scared_."

Lucas looked at the two with wide eyes. She said to Sienna, "You told her I was scared of Maya?!"

Sienna proudly nodded.

"For a tough guy it's hard to believe how scared you are of a five-foot blonde," Riley laughed then turned to Sienna, "You still have to tell me those Lucas stories."

"Sure! I'll tell you them now," Sienna offered.

"Oh, no," Lucas lowered his head in embarrassment. Sienna knew all sorts of embarrassing things about him, and although he was extremely comfortable with Riley, he didn't want her knowing certain things.

"Oh, come on, Lukey," Riley said in a sweet voice that always got to him. "I bet they're not that bad."

"Wanna bet?" countered Sienna.

"You two give me a headache," Lucas palmed his face and shook his head disapprovingly.

* * *

 **How do you guys like Sienna so far? Personally, I think she's the cutest thing.**


	2. Chapter Two

**Thank you guys for the response this fic has gotten so far!**

* * *

Chapter Two

Maya helped Riley open up the bakery again a couple of days later. Sienna also came early to help out, as she enjoyed spending time with Riley and Maya the past couple of days. They were like the sisters she wished she had. She was glad that Lucas had made himself such great friends, especially because when he first moved to New York, he would always plan a trip back to Texas every other weekend, but then when he made friends, those trips became infrequent. He claimed that his newfound friends, especially Riley, made him feel at home. Lucas's experience with the move made Sienna excited to start school in the fall so she could make amazing friends of her own.

There was a knock on the door as Maya wiped down the tables. She looked up and towards the sound, seeing a handsome man that looked her age. He gave her a meek smile. Maya left the cloth on the table and went to open the door for the man.

"Hello, we're still closed," Maya informed him.

The man shook his head, "I'm Evan."

"Oh!" Maya's eyes lit up and she smirked. She called out, "Riley! Evan's here!"

Riley quickly rushed out to greet Evan.

"Hi!" Riley greeted. "You excited for your first day?"

"Yeah," Evan nodded.

"Excuse us for a second, Evan," Maya said then pulled Riley aside. "You didn't tell me that Evan was a hottie!"

"Is he? I haven't noticed," Riley shrugged. She only had eyes for Lucas.

"Yeah, he is!" Maya replied. "If I wasn't dating your Uncle Josh, oh boy…"

"Maya!" Riley gave her best friend a look. She shook her head, "I gotta get Evan settled."

Riley walked back over to Evan and led him towards the office. As Riley was showing him the paperwork and explained what to do, her phone rang. It was on vibrate and in her pocket so Evan was unaware. But when Riley felt the vibration in her pocket a second time, she decided it must be something important.

"Sorry, I gotta take this," Riley excused herself when she realized it was Lucas calling. She walked to a corner of the room and answered her phone. "Lucas, hi."

"Jellybean," Lucas returned. Riley couldn't help but smile at the sound of his sweet voice. "How's it going?"

"It's Evan's first day," Riley replied. "Just teaching him stuff."

"Oh, the new assistant manager you hired?" Lucas responded.

"Yeah," Riley answered. "I'll call you back during my break."

"I'll be waiting," Lucas replied. "I love you."

"I love you too, always," Riley said softly before ending the call and putting the phone back in her pocket.

She walked back to Evan.

"Sorry about that."

"That's okay," Evan replied, looking through papers. "I can do all this financial stuff. I'm really good at it."

"Great," Riley said. She laughed, "Because I'm horrible at math. Well, I'm not _horrible_ , I just don't prefer to do it."

"I don't mind math," Evan answered. "I like numbers."

"Then we're going to get along just fine," Riley said with a friendly smile.

The day had gone by rather quickly, and while Riley had spent most of the time teaching Evan how things worked, Maya was in the front of the bakery supervising. Sienna had gotten the hang of her job as well.

Riley was on her break and sat at an empty table in the bakery. Evan originally was supposed to have break with her but he insisted she rescheduled his break just so he could take the time to get to know the employees. He was starting a conversation with Sienna when Riley decided to call Lucas, just like she promised.

She tapped her fingers on the table as she held her phone up to her ear with her other hand.

"Told you I'd call," Riley said when Lucas picked up.

"I was afraid you forgot about me," Lucas said.

"That's not possible," she shook her head. "What are you up to?"

"I was sent home early," Lucas said. "Doc had an emergency to attend to an hour away from the city and he didn't want to bring me because he didn't know how long it would take to finish the job."

"So you're just in bed I'm assuming?" Riley said. "Must be nice."

"Only if you were here with me," Lucas said with a smirk plastered on his face. Not that Riley would know. But she heard it in his voice.

"Oh, stop," Riley could feel her cheeks flush a light shade of pink. Even when he was thousands of miles away he was able to make her feel the way she did. It amazed her, the effect he had on her. No one else could ever replicate that feeling for her.

"And you, how's training going?" Lucas inquired.

"Evan's really great," Riley replied. "He caught on really quickly and so it was really easy on my part. He seems to be getting along with the employees too. He's actually talking to Sienna right now. They seem to be hitting things off." Riley turned her head to the pair's direction. Evan and Sienna were laughing and they seemed to have become good friends in the past ten minutes.

"And how old is this Evan guy?" Lucas asked.

"Like, our age," Riley shrugged.

"Tell him to back off from my cousin," Lucas said jokingly.

"You're always so protective," Riley laughed.

"Tell him to back off you too, while you're at it," Lucas added. He was serious this time, but the tone of his voice didn't seem like it. Lucas was very secure about his relationship with Riley, especially since they had just finished their freshman year of college and have been dating since their freshman year of high school. But hearing his girlfriend talk about this guy she hired to work alongside her, he couldn't help but to feel a bit jealous. But of course he wasn't going to tell Riley that.

"Lucas Friar, are you… dare I say it… jealous?" Riley teased. Though Lucas wouldn't admit it, Riley knew that he got jealous from time to time. To be fair, she'd get jealous too, and Lucas would tease her just the same.

"Who, me? Never!" Lucas put a hand on his chest. He relaxed. "I'm just saying. You'll be spending a lot of time together this summer. I just want him to know you're taken."

"Babe, I'm pretty sure everyone knows," Riley replied. "Sometimes people scold at me for talking about you too much."

"You talk about me?"

"Of course!" Riley answered. "I seem to be doing it a lot more now that you're not here. I just really miss you." She began to draw circles on the table with her finger.

"I really miss you too," he returned. "Is summer over yet?"

"I'm afraid it's only just begun."

* * *

Weeks passed and the frequent calls between Lucas and Riley become shorter and less common. They both knew they had busy schedules, but Riley couldn't help but feel that he was drifting away from her. She often found herself staring at her phone's wallpaper, which she recently changed to a photo of Lucas from a dinner date they had before he left for Texas.

"Hi, honey," Topanga knocked on the open door and walked into the office.

Riley shot up and looked at the owner of the voice. She smiled at her mother, who had just clearly got back from the law firm. She pushed her phone off to the side.

"Hi, mom," Riley smiled, gesturing for Topanga to sit in front of her.

"Just wanted to check in how the bakery's doing," Topanga said. "I still own this place, after all."

Riley laughed, "I know, Mom. Things are going great here. Evan's doing a really good job. Him being here gives me plenty of time to be back here and do paperwork and all the behind the scenes stuff. But eventually we're going to have to alternate shifts. I still want my summer vacation."

"Told you Evan was the way to go," Topanga beamed. "I've noticed Maya doing some extra work, I'm really impressed by her. Guess Katy rubbed off on her."

"Yeah, I wanted to promote her," Riley said. "But I'm not sure if we need two assistant managers. Maya really seems to be taking this as seriously as I am. I'm really proud of her."

"Hey, it's up to you," Topanga put hand on her daughter's. "I just want you to know that I'm really, really proud of you for taking initiative. If you didn't step up, I honestly don't know who I would've left in charge. I guess I could've asked your father, but he already has enough on his plate teaching summer classes."

"I'm glad I could help," Riley said. "You and Dad have done so much for me and Auggie, I wanted to make it up to you."

"I knew I raised you well," Topanga leaned forward to pinch Riley's cheeks. Riley quickly swatted her hand away and whined. Topanga laughed, then reached to pull out a letter from her purse. She put it on the desk. "I got this in the mail, it's from Lucas. How is he anyway?"

"I haven't talked to him in a while," Riley admitted, picking up the letter. She sighed, "Figures he'd send me a letter. Who does that anymore?"

"Well, you two were always anything but conventional," Topanga reminded her daughter. And she was right. Riley and Lucas played by their own rules in order not to succumb to peer pressure. And by going against the odds helped them build a strong relationship.

Riley ripped open the envelope as soon as Topanga left the room. Inside there was hand-written letter and a few pictures of him and some of the animals he had helped take care of. In the letter, Lucas explained how his summer was going so far, and how much he missed her. She couldn't help but smile and hold the piece of paper to her chest.

Whatever doubts Riley had in regards to her relationship just vanished with that single piece of paper. She knew they were going to last the summer. They were stronger than any force to be reckoned with.

Riley quickly called Lucas in hopes he would pick up. At this point, with the lack of phone calls they've shared, she wasn't positive anymore that he'd be on the other line.

"Riley, babe!"

Riley beamed at the sound of Lucas's voice, "Lucas. It's been a while."

"I know," he breathed.

"I got your letter," Riley said, "You were always such a romantic."

"Sometimes I think phone calls aren't personal enough," Lucas said. "I thought you'd appreciate seeing my god-awful handwriting."

Riley couldn't help but giggle, "You're adorable, you know that?"

"You've told me once or twice," Lucas confirmed. Riley heard some distinct chattering in the background. "Hey, princess, I gotta go now, but I'll talk to you soon, okay? I promise."

Riley sighed, "Okay."

Lucas felt guilty when he heard the hurt evident in her voice. He really didn't want to end the call, but he was at the clinic and was having a busy day. His boss had shortened his break so they were able to accommodate the patients. Lucas knew how insecure Riley could get, and the tone in her voice indicated to him that her insecurities were surfacing. He didn't like that that was happening. He never wanted her to be insecure in their relationship.

"Actually…" Lucas's voice trailed off. "Let's video chat tonight. Dress nice. I really have to go, I love you."

"Dress nice?" Riley asked. "Why?"

"Just… trust me, okay?" Lucas replied. A soft smile played on his lips and was glad she wasn't able to see him. He repeated, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Riley breathed.

* * *

"You sure you don't need help closing up?" Maya asked.

"Yeah, Peaches, you deserve to go home early," Riley insisted. "You've been doing so much for the bakery lately. Thank you."

"Of course, Riles!" Maya hugged the brunette. "Anything for my best friend. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Riley nodded, "Bye, Peaches."

Maya smiled before exiting Topanga's. Riley sighed and quickly cleaned up around the bakery. Once finished, she headed to the back and changed into a t-shirt dress that was casual but dressy at the same time. She sat at her desk and turned on her laptop. She tapped on the table as she waited for Lucas to call.

Riley checked the wall clock. It was nearing ten o'clock, and she was getting tired. She had to be back at the bakery early the next morning. She yawned. She figured she'd wait for Lucas a little bit more. Ten more minutes passed by, and Riley just about had it. She sighed and was about to close her laptop when there was an incoming call.

"Lucas.." she whispered to herself. "He didn't forget."

She smiled at the flashing name on the screen and clicked 'accept.' Lucas appeared on the screen, wearing a blazer on top of a light pink dress shirt. He smiled sheepishly and gave a small wave. Riley couldn't help but smile at his dorkiness.

"Hi," Lucas greeted.

"Hey," Riley returned.

Lucas sighed and smiled again, "Hey." He shook his head and snapped out of his daze. He couldn't help but think about how good she looked even though she was two thousand miles away from him. Still, she looked beautiful. He frowned, "I'm sorry, I was going to call sooner but Pappy Joe needed some help on the ranch after my shift at the clinic."

Riley waved it off, "That's alright, babe. How's Pappy Joe anyway?"

"He's great," Lucas nodded. "Told me he misses you, though." The last time Riley had visited Texas with Lucas, Pappy Joe had taken him to a neighboring farm that housed bunnies—needless to say, she was thrilled. Riley was also supposed to meet Sienna during that trip, but they were out of the country on vacation.

"I miss him too," Riley replied. Although Lucas was in another state on the other end of the country, seeing him smile through her screen made him feel a lot closer. For that, she was grateful that her insecurities had mostly faded. She knew she shouldn't take it seriously if Lucas wasn't able to answer her calls. She understood how busy he was, and how important his internship was to him. Riley shouldn't be obsessing too much over it anyway, she was busy herself, running a bakery and all.

"You look beautiful, by the way," Lucas breathed. "But what's new?"

Riley rolled her eyes and blushed, "Oh, you love flattering me. What about you? You look handsome as usual. A bit surprised to see you wearing that, though."

"I told you to dress nice, didn't I?" Lucas laughed.

"You did," Riley nodded. "But compared to you I feel underdressed."

"Oh yeah?" Lucas smirked. He stood up to show his bottom half to the camera. He was only in his boxers. Riley giggled.

"Okay, we're even," Riley said.

"We should do this more often if it means not having to wear pants," Lucas chuckled as he returned to sit down. He lifted up a plate of spaghetti to show Riley through the camera. "Want some?"

Riley pouted, "How is this fair that you're eating and I'm not? What kind of date is this?"

"Well…" Lucas's voice trailed off.

There was a knock on the door that startled Riley. Her heart began to race out of her body's fight or flight response, but she relaxed when it was Maya who opened the door and entered the room. The blonde was holding a bag of take-out food from a nearby Italian restaurant. She walked towards Riley and placed the bag on her desk.

"Maya? What are you doing here? I thought you went home," Riley said, confused.

"I knew why you let me leave early," Maya smiled. "Ranger Rick texted me and asked me to pick up some food for you."

Riley turned back to Lucas on the screen, "Really, babe?"

Lucas nodded.

"I love that you did that but I'm also amazed that you got Maya to do something for you," Riley laughed.

"I only agreed to it because it was for your benefit," Maya kissed the top of Riley's head. She then lowered herself to the laptop so that Lucas could see her. "Plus, she's been miserable without you, Huckleberry. If buying food for her on your behalf will get me back my Riley, then so be it."

"Thank you, Maya, I really appreciate it," Lucas said.

"You sure you're scared of me?" Maya smirked.

"Shut up," Lucas said, annoyed.

Riley and Maya shared a chuckle. Maya then realized she was overstaying her welcome. She announced, "Alright. Guess I'm gonna get going. You two kids don't have too much fun, now, okay?"

"Maya, how is anything supposed to happen through a screen?" Riley asked.

Maya raised a brow, which made Riley quickly realize what the blonde insinuated.

"Exactly," Maya said. As she left, she turned back to say, "Bye, love birds. You two make me sick. Love you both!"

Once Maya was out of the room, Riley lowered her head in shame.

"I'm sorry… for her," Riley said.

Lucas chuckled, "Don't be. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have been able to get you food."

"Thanks for that," Riley smiled as she began to unpack her food.

The two ate their food and enjoyed each other's company. They caught each other up with what they've missed, due to lack of text messages and phone calls. Both Riley and Lucas felt relieved, that nothing had changed between them.

"I can't wait till I'm back in New York," Lucas said.

"Me too," Riley agreed. She looked at the wall clock before returning her gaze onto her screen. She sighed and uncomfortably shifted in her seat. "I'd better go. I have to do a couple more things before I leave."

"Riles? It's midnight there," Lucas said. "Shouldn't you be heading home?"

"I should be," Riley confirmed. "But because I had this date with you, it cut into my time that I usually use to close the bakery."

"Riley," Lucas said sternly. "If you were busy you should've just said so. We could've rescheduled. I don't want to get in the way of your work."

"No, no," Riley shook her head. "I wanted to have this date with you. It's been so long since we talked for more than twenty minutes. I really needed this."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright, I'll let you go, Riles, but please, please take care of yourself," Lucas said. "I'm not there to look after you so be careful. I don't want you overworked and too stressed. I want you to be Smiley Riley when I get back, okay? And if you need anything, you know I'm always here."

Riley nodded, grateful that he was always so considerate.

"I had a wonderful time, by the way," Riley half smiled.

"I love you," Lucas said. He waved. "Goodnight."


	3. Chapter Three

**Just a heads up. I intend to keep this fic short so things may be going a little too fast. Also, even though this fic is angst, I'm still not entirely sure how I want to end things. It could go either way, just bare with me! I know everyone's still a little shook with the cancelation news. I'm completely okay with the cancelation, but it'd be great if Netflix picked it up! Thanks for the reviews as always!**

* * *

Chapter Three

Sienna was on the way to Topanga's for her shift when her phone rang in her pocket. She reached for it and answered the call as she crossed the street.

"Oh, hey Lucas," she greeted on the phone, delighted to hear his voice on the other end.

"I need to talk to you," Lucas immediately said. He didn't wait for Sienna to reply, "Riley and I had this date over video chat last night. It all went great, obviously, but I don't think it ended too well. There was a change in her demeanor and I'm not sure what it means."

"Well, what happened?" Sienna asked.

"Basically she said she had to cut me in," Lucas replied. "Well, those weren't her _exact_ words but it sure felt that way. She stayed at the bakery past midnight to do stuff. Am I getting in the way of her work?"

"Really, Lucas?" Sienna sighed.

"What?" Lucas said.

"That's what you're so concerned about?" Sienna inquired.

"Yes!" Lucas snapped. "I mean I planned the date to make it up to her since we haven't talked in so long, but now I feel bad for getting in the way."

"Don't be so insecure," Sienna scoffed. "We both know she loves you. You're both stressed. You usually don't read into things like this unless you're stressed. And being stressed is not a good look on you, Luke."

"Hey! I'm very secure," Lucas countered. "They don't call me a secure western hero for nothing."

"Who calls you that?" Sienna laughed.

"Riley," Lucas replied, matter-of-factly.

"Riley thinks the world of you," Sienna reminded him.

"Okay, well... Josh calls me that too," added Lucas.

"Who's Josh?" Sienna asked as she walked into the bakery.

"Riley's uncle," Lucas said.

"Oh, Uncle Boing?" Sienna said. "Maya's told me about him. They're dating now, you know."

"Well, I'm not surprised," Lucas said.

"Hey, Sienna," Evan greeted from the counter. Sienna walked over to him, her phone still pressed to her ear. She smiled at Evan.

"I'm at work now," Sienna informed her cousin. "We'll talk soon. Don't worry about her. She loves you. With all the things she knows about you she should've been long gone by now. But she's not."

"Wow, thanks, Sienna," Lucas said sarcastically. "No, really, though. Thanks for being there with me."

"Happy to help," Sienna beamed, then turned off her phone and shoved it into her pocket. She turned her attention to Evan.

"Who were you on the phone with?" Evan asked.

"Oh, just my cousin Lucas," Sienna waved him off. "He was telling me about his girl problems."

"Girl problems?" Evan titled his head. "Didn't you tell me he was dating Riley?"

Sienna nodded, "Not really problems, per se, he's just overreacting. The distance has been really getting to them, I think."

"Well, I'm sure they'll be able to get through it," Evan shrugged. He was aware of Riley and Lucas's relationship, as Riley liked to talk about her boyfriend a lot.

"Boy, I sure hope so," Sienna agreed. "They love each other too much to let anything get in the way. I mean, I'm sure they know how they work by now. It's just their first summer apart, guess it's the separation anxiety that's getting to them."

"Riley's a trooper though," Evan commented. "I haven't known her for long but I can tell that the workload is getting to her, yet she still has that lovely smile plastered on her face."

"Haven't known her for long either," Sienna said, "but I know for a fact that that's just how she is. She's very optimistic and hopeful. One of the things my cousin loves about her."

"Well, what a lucky guy your cousin is," Evan said.

"He is, isn't he?" Sienna nodded. "Well, I'm gonna go get ready for my shift."

"Alright, see ya," Evan waved as Sienna walked to the break room to settle in for her shift. She furrowed her brows, analyzing the conversation she just had with Evan. She raised her brows when she saw Maya sitting at the table and decided to sit down beside the blonde.

"Hey, Maya, I can tell you anything, right?" Sienna asked.

"I'd like to think so," Maya nodded. "I mean you told me that your cousin was scared of me, which I don't think you were supposed to tell me."

Sienna laughed, "Yeah, I wasn't supposed to tell you that but it's hilarious."

"It is!" Maya returned. "So what is it you need to tell me?"

"Well, I was just talking to Evan and we ended up on the topic of Riley," Sienna began. "And I don't know… The way he talked about her… Couldn't help but think that maybe he has some kind of crush on her?"

"I mean, they've been spending _a lot_ of time together," Maya nodded. "But I don't think he likes her. Doesn't he know she's in a serious relationship?"

"He does," Sienna confirmed. "Now I'm not saying that's he's going to try anything; I just wanted to bring it to your attention. You know, in case something does happen."

"Riley's a smart girl," Maya said. "Very loyal, too. I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"I hope so," Sienna pursed her lips. "I love Lucas, and I obviously really care about him. And Riley's awesome. I don't want anything to happen between them."

"Neither do I," Maya agreed.

* * *

Riley was in the office doing paperwork when she called Evan in to help her with some of the financial stuff. Maya was supervising the bakery while the two were in the office.

"I am _really_ glad I hired you," Riley said. "You've made things so much easier on me. Didn't realize how hard it was to manage a business. I don't know how my mom does it while being a lawyer."

"Hey, that's new," Evan disregarded Riley and pointed at a picture frame on the desk. It was a photo of Riley and Lucas from their high school graduation, one of Riley's favorite photos of them together. She decided to put that photo there to remind her that if they could get through high school together, they'd be able to get through the summer even with very limited communication. Besides, since she basically owned the office for a couple of months, she figured she'd make the place more personal and added to the photos of her family that her mother had around the office.

"Yeah," Riley said. Her gaze fell onto the photo as well, and she absentmindedly began to play with the ring on her left ring finger. It was a promise ring Lucas had given her for her birthday last year. It was yet another reminder of how strong their relationship was.

"So that's your boyfriend. He looks a lot like Sienna," Evan said. Riley nodded. He jokingly added, "He's cute."

"He is," Riley laughed.

"Why haven't I seen him around?" Evan asked.

"He's in Texas for the summer," Riley replied. "He's interning for a well-known veterinarian. He wants to become one someday."

"That sounds cool," Evan nodded. "Working with animals. That's an interesting profession."

"Yeah," Riley responded. "He's very passionate about it. He grew up on a ranch."

Evan admired how in love Riley seemed when she talked about her boyfriend. He felt a pang of jealousy as he had wished that she was talking about him in that manner. He never told anyone, especially anyone on the staff, but he had feelings for Riley. He spent pretty much every day with her these past couple of weeks, and he felt that he really got to know her. He was informed of her relationship status by Sienna, who told Evan that Riley was dating her cousin Lucas. So Evan left his feelings alone.

"I'm really proud of him," Riley added, when she realized Evan took too long to answer.

"I'm sure he's proud of you too," Evan snapped out of his thoughts of Riley.

"He is," Riley nodded and looked down at her hands.

"Must be tough though, being away from him," Evan said.

"It is, but we're stronger than that," Riley informed him. A smile played on her lips. "Actually, a couple of days ago we had a date through video chat. I know it sounds cheesy but I just felt like he was here with me. It was the first time in a while where we actually had a real conversation and not one that lasted less than twenty minutes. I know we're still young but I see myself spending the rest of my life with him… Sorry I'm rambling."

"Don't be sorry," Evan said. He smiled, "I like listening to you talk."

Riley gave him a sheepish smile. She tensed up. She had this sudden feeling that Evan might like her—more than a friend and co-worker should.

* * *

It had been a week since Lucas's video chat date with Riley, and he had been receiving less text messages from her than usual. He knew he shouldn't be worried, but he couldn't help himself. Their phone calls were non-existent at this point, and he desperately missed the sound of her cheerful voice. He felt wrong that he was doubting her, but he knew it was perfectly fine to feel that way. He had anticipated the separation anxiety he would feel as soon as he left New York, but he didn't realize how bad it felt. He hated the feeling.

"You seem more upset than usual," a voice came from behind Lucas. Lucas was sitting on a picnic table out behind the clinic. It was his lunch and he needed some fresh air. Lucas didn't need to turn around to recognize the voice. It was Dylan, one of his oldest friends in Texas besides Zay. However, Lucas had lost touch with Dylan when he got accustomed to New York, Riley, and his newfound friends. They reunited again on Lucas's first day of the internship. He had no idea Dylan also wanted to be a veterinarian and was also given an internship at the same clinic. The two quickly jumped right back into their friendship and it felt like there was no gap in between at all.

"Yeah," was all Lucas could say. He kept his gaze on his feet that were resting on the bench. Dylan jumped up onto the table and sat beside the green-eyed boy.

"Is it Riley?" Dylan questioned. When Lucas had first moved to New York, he talked to Dylan frequently. He had made sure to tell him of his encounter with the pretty brunette that quickly turned into a full blown crush.

Lucas pursed his lips and nodded.

"What'd she do?"

"It's more like what she _didn't_ do," Lucas scoffed. He sounded bitter, but could anyone blame him? The boy was overwhelmed with his internship and all he wanted was to hear the sound of his girlfriend's voice to calm him down. Was that so much to ask for?

"Care to elaborate?" Dylan asked.

Lucas grunted, "Last time I heard from her was a couple days after our video chat date. I'm starting to worry."

"Have you tried getting in contact with her?"

"Well, no. I'm scared she won't pick up, that she's too busy for me," Lucas confessed. "I don't want to get in the way of her dreams."

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to get in the way of yours either," Dylan pointed out. "Maybe she's feeling the same way you are. She doesn't want to call you because she thinks you're too busy for her."

"For a couple who bases their relationship off of communication, we're doing a bang up job of it, aren't we?" Lucas released a dry laugh.

"Hey, don't say that," Dylan said, patting Lucas's back. "When you first moved to New York, you used to talk about Riley all the time. I hadn't seen you so happy since before you moved. Then you would tell me how she liked you too. Do you remember that?"

"Yeah, I do," Lucas chuckled. He mentally cringed at the memory. God, he sounded like a teenage girl, the way he used to gush about her. But hey, he was a thirteen-year-old boy who had his first crush. How else was he supposed to act?

"And then I believe it was after you and Riley became a couple, you and I stopped talking," Dylan continued. "I was sad about it at first, because I missed you. But then I was happy for you, because you were finally happy, especially since you never wanted to leave Texas in the first place. Now, I don't know Riley personally, but with what you've told me about her, she seems pretty amazing. And totally into you. With the personality she has and the history you two have, I don't think you should be doubting her feelings. She loves you."

Lucas looked up at Dylan. He was right. In all the years that he was with Riley, he had never doubted her feelings for him.

"It's just the distance," Dylan said. "I can't imagine how hard it is for you, being two thousand miles away from the person you love."

"It's tough," Lucas nodded. He looked around. The clinic was in an undeveloped area, so there weren't too many buildings around. "I really missed Texas. But… New York. New York is my home now."

"Home is where the heart is," Dylan said.

* * *

"Riles, I promise we'll do something to get your mind off the bakery," Maya said with a hand on Riley's shoulder. Riley had her faced buried in her hands as she sat at her desk. The stress was starting to really get to her, and with Lucas so far away, all her feelings just hit her like a truck. She hadn't heard from Lucas in almost two weeks now, and it added to her stress. To be fair, she hadn't been messaging him either. She was way too busy with running the bakery.

Riley didn't answer, instead she let out a long groan.

"I can stay with you until you finish, if you'd like," Maya offered. Maya experienced Riley's anxiety firsthand, and completely empathized with the brunette. It killed her that she couldn't do anything to make her feel better. She knew the only person who could do that in this situation was Lucas. And Lucas couldn't be reached. Maya had promised herself to give Lucas a talking to as soon as anyone heard from him.

Riley sighed and lifted her head up to look at her best friend. She said, "No, Maya. It's okay. I got this."

"Riley," Maya said firmly. "Are you sure? You know I have no problem with staying here with you."

"No, no," Riley waved her off. Truthfully, she wanted Maya to stay. But she couldn't ask Maya to, especially with all she'd done for the bakery already. She knew Maya needed rest as much as she did. "No need. I'll be fine, Maya."

Maya didn't like the fact that Riley hadn't been herself for quite a while. She knew Riley was able to handle everything, but she didn't think Riley herself knew it. Maya knew the biggest factor to this was Lucas's absence. If Lucas were here, Maya knew that Riley would be able to handle managing the bakery with very few problems.

"Riley, I swear," Maya said. "Just let me help you."

Riley was on the verge of tears. She swallowed the lump in her throat and said, "Maya, you know I love you. But I think I need to be alone for a bit." She hated that she had to push her best friend away, but she really did want to be alone. She knew she was going to have a breakdown soon, and she didn't want Maya there to see her so vulnerable, not when Maya knew how strong Riley was.

Maya raised her hands in the air, "That's it. That's all you had to say, honey. I understand. Just text me if you need anything."

Riley hugged the blonde and softened her voice, "Thank you for understanding. Bye, Peaches."

"Bye, sweetie," Maya returned as she walked out of the bakery.

For a while, Riley stayed seated at her desk. She looked around the room, and the framed photo on her desk caught her eye.

"It'd be so much easier if you were here," Riley said to herself softly. She reached for her phone that rested on her desk and dialed his number. She wanted so badly for him to pick up, so she could rant to him about her day. But when he didn't pick up, Riley couldn't help but to sob. She knew it was a long shot, but she figured she would try to call.

She shook her head to shake the negative thoughts out of her head. She got up and composed herself. She took a deep breath and went out to the front of the bakery. She went behind the counter to the cash register. She pressed a couple of buttons on it and counted the money. All the while, her thoughts came flooding back. She couldn't help but let a few tears roll down her cheeks. She was getting to her breaking point, and she didn't like it.

Suddenly, the front door opened, resulting in Riley to quickly shift her attention to the door. Her heart began to race but then immediately relaxed when she recognized the figure as Evan and not an intruder.

"Hey, Evan, what are you doing here?" Riley sniffled as she placed the money in an envelope.

"I forgot my phone," he confessed. "Sorry for startling you, I didn't know you were still here."

"That's okay," Riley said, wiping her eyes. She scanned the room until her gaze landed on Evan's phone on one of the tables. She pointed to it, "Your phone's over there."

"Thanks," Evan replied and walked across the room to retrieve his phone. He shoved his phone into his jacket pocket. He turned back to Riley and noticed her tear stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes. "Are you okay?"

Riley nodded and sniffled, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, you don't look fine," Evan pointed out, not trying to offend her.

"I'm just stressed," Riley whispered. She looked down at her feet. "And I don't know what to do. I hate this feeling."

Evan walked over behind the counter so that he was standing beside Riley. Evan lifted Riley's chin so that he was staring into her chocolate brown eyes. He thought that eyes that beautiful didn't deserve to draw tears. She gulped as she stared into his eyes. Her mind drew to a blank, as if her brain had temporarily escaped her body.

"Hey, don't say that," Evan said softly. "You're doing a great job with the bakery. Everyone's so proud of you. It's okay to feel a little overwhelmed."

In the midst of the moment, as they were staring into each other's eyes, Evan leaned forward. When he noticed Riley didn't react, he figured that he should keep going. He closed his eyes and moved closer to Riley's face until their lips touched. Without thinking, Riley closed her eyes and kissed him back.

As they kissed, Sienna stood in front of the entrance to the bakery and was taken aback with what she saw. She felt her heart start racing and tears welling in her eyes. She really liked Riley, but how could she do this to Lucas? Sienna felt irritated which quickly turned to anger and immediately left before she did something stupid like burst into the bakery and confront the traitor and her accomplice. She had lost respect for both Riley and Evan right at that moment. And to think, Maya had texted Sienna to tell her that Riley was still at the bakery because she was feeling overwhelmed and figured that she was the closest thing to Lucas and would be able to calm Riley down.

Riley was the first to pull apart when she realized what was happening. Did she really just kiss Evan? She felt sudden guilt rush over her as the thought of Lucas came to mind. She couldn't believe what she did. He'd never forgive her if he found out. New tears began to form in her eyes. She panicked and her breathing got uneven.

"This was a mistake," Riley muttered, looking at the floor, "I have a boyfriend."

Riley grabbed her purse and rushed out of the bakery, allowing her tears to fall freely.


	4. Chapter Four

**I couldn't leave you guys hanging after that cliffhanger last chapter. I'm excited about this chapter, so please excuse the lack of editing. I just really wanted to get this up! Please don't hate me.**

* * *

Chapter Four

After hours of laying in her bed and replaying the moment in her head, Riley figured she wouldn't be able to sleep at all that night. So she decided to go to the one person that she really needed—Maya. Riley hurried over to Maya's apartment and aggressively knocked on the door until Maya answered it.

"Riley, what are you doing here?" Maya said groggily, her eyes half closed. "It's like three in the morning."

"I thought it would be more fair to you for me to come over instead of calling you to the bay window," Riley said nervously. She bit her lip and walked inside the apartment and closed the door behind her. Riley led the half asleep Maya to the couch and sat down.

"What's the matter, honey?" Maya said, resting her head on Riley's shoulder and shutting her eyes.

Riley chewed on her lip and waited a few seconds before answering, "Uh.. I kinda… I kinda kissed Evan."

Maya quickly sat up, her eyes wide open. If she wasn't awake before, then she was certainly awake now.

"You did what?!" Maya exclaimed. This just wasn't the news she expected to hear at three in the morning.

"I kissed Evan," Riley repeated softly, hanging her head down in shame. "Well, he kissed me."

"Whoa, rewind there for a second, honey," Maya raised her palms. "What were you doing kissing Evan?"

"After you left," Riley began, playing with her thumbs, "he came because he forgot his phone. I was having a breakdown from the stress and I was vulnerable and he kissed me. I pulled away as soon as I processed what was happening! And then I ran away."

"Wait, so where was Sienna while all of this was happening?" Maya shook her head in confusion.

"Sienna? Why would she be there?" Riley asked.

"I texted her, asking if she could go to the bakery to comfort you," Maya said. "I figured that if Lucas wasn't here, she'd be the next best thing."

Riley shrugged, "She never showed. Probably fell asleep."

"Weird," breathed Maya.

"Peaches, please tell me what to do," Riley turned to Maya and pouted.

"Well, for one, do you like Evan?" Maya asked.

"Of course I do," Riley replied. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have hired him. He's such a good person and he really knows what he's doing at the bakery—"

"No, not like that," Maya interjected. She rolled her eyes. It was _way_ too early for her to be dealing with this, but it was Riley, and Maya would do anything for her. "I'm asking if you have _romantic feelings_ for Evan."

"Oh," Riley frowned. "Then no, I don't."

"So then why'd you kiss him?" Maya raised a brow.

"I didn't!" Riley replied. "He kissed me!"

"Riles!" Maya groaned.

"I'm such a bad girlfriend, Peaches," Riley began to sob. "Lucas is never going to forgive me after this!"

Riley buried her face in her hands. Maya sighed and rubbed her best friend's back. She hated seeing her like this. She was never supposed to feel like this. Riley Matthews was an optimistic little bunny and Maya refused to think of her in any way other than that. Riley Matthews was not one to make stupid mistakes. Riley was vulnerable, and Maya hoped that was a good enough reason for Lucas.

"I can't face him at work tomorrow," Riley lifted her head. She shook her head in a panic.

"You mean today," Maya corrected.

Riley looked up at the blonde with a confused expression.

"It's technically already tomorrow," Maya explained with her finger in the air.

Riley rolled her eyes and sighed, "Not helping, Maya!"

"Tell you what," Maya put her arm around the brunette. "I'll open the bakery for you, and you can sleep in and rest for a bit and deal with your feelings. And if you really can't face him, just don't show up. You, your mom, _and_ my mom have trained me well enough. I know the bakery inside out, you know you can trust me."

"Maya, have I ever told you how glad I am you crawled into my window when we were seven?" Riley said as she rested her head on Maya's shoulder.

"All the time," Maya replied.

They sat there in silence for a couple of minutes. Maya wasn't exactly sure how Riley was feeling, as she's never been in that position before, but she empathized with her. Maya obviously knew how much Riley loved Lucas, and she too was afraid that one stupid mistake could break up Cory and Topanga 2.0.

Riley rested her head in Maya's lap as Maya ran her fingers through the brunette's hair.

"So are you going to tell Lucas about the kiss?" Maya finally asked. There was no answer. Maya looked down in her lap and noticed Riley was already fast asleep. She sighed. She carefully pushed Riley off her and made sure she was in a comfortable position before Maya returned to her room to get some rest.

* * *

Riley didn't show up for her shifts at Topanga's for the next couple of days. She couldn't face Evan. Topanga noticed Riley had been spending her days at home, and so Riley's only excuse was that she was overwhelmed. It was still partially true. Topanga had made sure to give Riley advice on how to overcome and reduce stress by learning to balance her work life with her personal life. Of course, Topanga had no knowledge of the compromising situation her daughter had been in with Evan.

Maya was taking good care of the bakery, as she had promised Riley. Her opinion of Evan had obviously changed after what happened with Riley, but she still remained civil with the boy. He was the assistant manager and she was just a supervisor, so it wouldn't look good on her if she freaked out on him. After all, Evan didn't know that Maya knew. Maya also noticed a change in Sienna's behavior. Sienna had been doing really well at her job, but these past couple of days she just seemed out of it. She shrugged it off and figured that the teen was feeling homesick.

Riley finally returned to work a couple of days later. She knew she just had to forget about the kiss. She was still unsure if she was going to tell Lucas. She knew the guilt would eat her alive, but at the same time she figured that the kiss meant nothing to her, and telling Lucas would just cause some unnecessary argument between the two.

All morning, Riley had done a good job avoiding Evan. She spent the morning in her office, trying to get back into her work. She had requested Maya to keep Evan busy so that he wouldn't approach her. Riley was sure that Evan would want to talk about the whole ordeal and how she just ran off like that. And worse, he would want to talk about his feelings.

Much to her dismay, Riley had to go to the front of the bakery because one of her employees called her for some help at the counter. And of course, there Evan was, helping to clean a newly vacated table. He immediately caught Riley's eye and walked over to the counter.

"Riley, can we talk?" Evan asked.

"There's nothing to talk about, Evan," Riley said nervously. She bit the inside of her cheek. She really couldn't do this now. She walked around the counter to try to find something to do to occupy herself.

"We have to talk about it sometime," Evan insisted.

"No, we don't," Riley shot back, desperately trying to escape the conversation. Evan's presence alone was enough to reiterate the guilt Riley had been feeling since the night of the kiss. Her breathing got heavy and turned away from him.

"I know you felt something," Evan pressed, ignoring Riley's obvious wishes of being left alone. He stepped closer to her and grabbed her hand, turning her so she was facing him once again. She felt her breath hitch and she didn't dare to look up at him.

"Look, Evan," Riley sighed, looking straight at his chest. She didn't want anyone else to hear what she had to say, so she whispered, "I realize that I did kiss you back, but I know that it was my way of coping with Lucas being gone. The kiss meant nothing to me, and it was a mistake. Please understand that nothing is ever going to happen between us and that I'm with Lucas."

Evan scratched the back of his neck and took a step back, only now realizing he overstepped his boundaries. He really like Riley, but he knew nothing could ever happen if she was still dating Lucas. He never wanted to come between them. It just kind of… happened. And as guilty as he felt, he didn't regret it.

"I get it," he finally responded after a few seconds. "It wasn't my place to kiss you and I'm sorry it happened. But that doesn't change the fact that I like you, Riley. I'll respect your wishes and I'll back off. Just let me know when I can pick up my final pay check."

"No, Evan," Riley said, shaking her head. She looked at her feet, still refusing to meet his eyes. "I'm not firing you. We're too old to be letting our personal lives interfere with our work lives. You can keep your job, but I'm keeping my distance from you. I think we should start working alternating shifts."

"Fair enough," Evan said. He started to walk away but then turned on his heel. "But if you decide to dump Lucas, you know where I'll be."

* * *

"Evan and I talked about it," Riley declared. She and Maya were walking down the streets of Manhattan on their lunch break while Evan supervised the bakery.

Maya looked at her friend with a curious look. She urged her to continue.

"I told him it was a mistake," Riley said. "That it was my way of coping with Lucas's absence. I just hope Lucas takes that explanation well."

"When are you planning on telling him?" Maya asked. She avoided asking the brunette this question for the past few days, as she knew Riley wasn't in the right state of mind to give a proper answer.

"Not anytime soon," Riley admitted. "I'll eventually bring it up when it's been too long for him to get mad at me for it."

"Riley," Maya said sternly. She stopped walking, which in result stopped Riley as well. Maya turned to her. "This is very unlike you. You and Lucas value honesty and loyalty very much."

"I know we do!" Riley retorted. "But trust me, he doesn't need to know. It'll be better that way."

Maya sighed. She knew what Riley was doing was wrong, but she wasn't in the right place to intervene. Instead, she said, "Riles, I love you, and although I don't agree with what you're doing, I trust you'll eventually do the right thing. Lucas has grown on me over the years and I'd hate to see you two throw your relationship away."

"Thanks, Peaches," Riley smiled, glad her best friend was so supportive. "You know I'd never do anything to sabotage our relationship. I love him too much."

Riley's phone started ringing. She tried to ignore it for the sake of Maya, but Maya had a feeling it was Lucas. She understood how much her best friend missed him, and it wasn't fair to let her miss this call.

Riley hesitated to answer the phone in her pocket but Maya nodded and gave her an assuring look.

"Answer it, I know you've been waiting," Maya encouraged.

"Okay," Riley smiled. She took the phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen. And, as expected, Lucas's name and phone flashed on the screen. "I'll be right back."

"Sure," Maya said.

Riley headed towards a nearby bench and sat on it while Maya went inside a boutique that had an outfit in the store window that caught her eye.

"Babe," Riley greeted cheerfully. She was glad that he called, as they hadn't talked in over a week. But at the same time, she knew talking to him would kill her inside. She hated keeping things from him.

"Hi, Riles," Lucas replied groggily.

"You just wake up?" Riley inquired.

"Yeah," Lucas said. "I came home from the clinic late last night. I wanted to call you as soon as I woke up."

"How sweet," Riley gushed.

"I know we haven't been able to talk a lot lately but I hope you know I still love you and nothing's going to change that," Lucas said. After worrying about whether or not Riley had time for him, he decided that it didn't matter. He loved her and shouldn't feel like he was getting in the way of her life.

Riley couldn't help but to feel a pang of guilt. She gulped, "I'm sorry I haven't been calling or texting either."

"I get it," Lucas said. "You thought I was too busy and would have no time to answer my phone, and you didn't want to be a bother, right?"

"Yeah…" Riley's voice trailed off.

"Well, me too. But I know now that it was a stupid thing to think, because you can never bother me. We haven't been communicating too well lately and I hope we can change that. I promise as soon as I get home we'll spend so much time together that you'll get sick of me," Lucas laughed. He jokingly added, "Unless you like, cheated on me or something and you'd be too busy spending time with some new guy."

Riley scoffed, "What makes you say that?"

"Relax, jellybean," Lucas said. "I was kidding. I know you'd never do that."

Riley was overcome with another wave of guilt. With Lucas's history of anger issues, she didn't know how he'd react if she ever decided to tell him what happened with Evan. She gulped. She said with a hushed tone, "You're right, I would never." And as much as she hated herself for betraying Lucas, she hated herself even more now for lying to him.

Lucas clearly didn't realize Riley's unusual tone and moved on to another topic, "By the way, do you know what's going on with Sienna?"

"What do you mean?" Riley asked in the same low voice. She couldn't even pretend to be in a good mood, she was just lucky that Lucas was oblivious to the fact.

"I tried calling her the other day but she wouldn't pick up," Lucas explained. "So I called my aunt and she said that Sienna has been coming home crying lately and that she doesn't leave her room. Do you think you could talk to her for me?"

"Yeah, for sure," Riley said. Come to think of it, Riley did realize something off with Sienna. Right before Riley and Maya left for their break, Riley recalled seeing an expressionless Sienna who looked like she didn't want to be there doing her job. "Anything for you."

"Great," Lucas said. "I'm gonna go get some more sleep. Doc gave me a day off today due to my late night last night. I promise I'll call again soon. I love you."

"I love you too," Riley breathed. She ended the call and sighed when she put her phone in her pocket.

* * *

Sienna really didn't want to be at the bakery. She couldn't focus during her last couple of shifts, but today was much worse. Being at the bakery only replayed that night in her head. The night she had lost all respect for Riley, the night her heart ached for her cousin. This secret she kept to herself was really taking a toll on her. She even went as far as refusing to answer Lucas's calls, because she knew if she answered, she would have told him everything. And he didn't deserve to hear it from her.

Evan too had noticed Sienna's strange behavior; he had just watched her rudely talk to customers who were waiting to be seated. The customers didn't like her attitude and left the bakery. Evan, completely appalled by what he had just witnessed, approached the teen.

"Sienna, what was that?" Evan threw his hands in the air. "You can't be rude to customers like that! I thought we trained you better."

"You guys did," Sienna folded her arms.

"Then why are you breaking conduct?" Evan asked sternly.

"Well, I mean, everyone's breaking rules," Sienna scoffed. "Why can't I?"

"Sienna, what do you mean?" Evan sighed. He didn't want to have to deal with her teen angst.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Sienna spat, staring him straight in the eye. She wasn't scared of him. "Before you came everything was going _amazing_! Then you show up and now my life's a mess. You douche."

Evan stood his ground, "With the way you're speaking to me, you know I can fire you, right?"

"I don't care!" Sienna yelled. "Do whatever the hell you want. I mean, that's what you've been doing anyway! You have no empathy for others, do you? All you think about is yourself!"

"Um, Sienna?" Riley chimed in. She had seen the teen's outburst, and now she knew she needed to have a talk with her. As much as Riley hated Evan, Sienna had no right to be talking to him that way. It was just plain rude.

Sienna immediately sighed and slouched her shoulders. She rolled her eyes. She wanted to feel guilty, but she wasn't. Sienna knew they both deserved what was coming to them. They betrayed her cousin, of course she was going to resent them.

Riley raised her brow, "May I have a word?"

Sienna rolled her eyes with a scoff. She followed Riley to the office. Sienna was totally prepared for this confrontation. She had had enough pretending like nothing happened. It wasn't fair to her, and it sure as hell was not fair to Lucas.

"What has gotten into you, Sienna?" Riley yelled as soon as she shut the door behind her. She walked over to Sienna, who was standing in the middle of the room.

"Nothing," Sienna replied. "I just don't want to be here."

"What's going on?" Riley pressed.

"Nothing," Sienna repeated. "I'm a teenager. I get mood swings."

"Oh, wait till your cousin finds out how you've been treating Evan and the guests," Riley gritted her teeth.

"Lucas? Oh, don't bother," Sienna scoffed. She took a step closer to Riley. "What about when he finds out how _you've_ been treating Evan?"

"Excuse me?" Riley's voice softened.

"I saw you kiss Evan!" Sienna yelled. She couldn't suppress her anger anymore.

Riley's eyes grew wide.

"You did?" Riley asked. The guilt overtook her features.

"Yeah, I saw you two kiss," Sienna deadpanned. "Do you realize how hurt Lucas is going to be when he finds out?"

Riley stepped forward and placed her hands on Sienna's shoulders. She pleaded, "That was never meant to happen. Don't tell Lucas, please."

Sienna swatted Riley's hands away from her, "You know I could've already told him, right?

"But you didn't," Riley whispered. If Lucas knew, he wouldn't have been so cheery with her on the phone earlier.

"Nope," Sienna replied, popping the 'p.' "Because I kept it to myself. And it's taken an emotional toll on me. It's _killing_ me that my cousin doesn't know his girlfriend cheated on him! I'm protecting him. You know how? By letting myself feel the heartache that I don't want him to feel. But it doesn't matter. Because he's going to feel it anyway. You know why?" She paused. "Because you're going to tell him."

Riley's face dropped. She felt tears well in her eyes.

Sienna raised both brows, "You don't want to hurt him, do you?"

"That's the last thing I want," Riley said softly, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Me telling him would hurt him even more," Sienna pointed out. "It's better he finds out from you."

Riley nodded. She's never been so scared of a sixteen-year-old girl before. She had a good reason to be, Sienna could sabotage their relationship with a phone call if she wanted to. And Lucas would trust her word because Sienna would never do anything to her him. But instead, Sienna's giving her a chance to fix things herself.

"By the way," Sienna said. She walked to the door and reached for the knob. Before she opened the door to exit the room, she deadpanned, "I quit."

* * *

For days, Riley considered calling Lucas to confess about the kiss that happened between her and her co-worker. But for some reason, she couldn't get herself to do it. She'd have her phone screen on Lucas's number, and all she'd have to do was press 'call,' but she never did. During their last conversation, Lucas had promised they would communicate more, and so the continuing lack of communication from her end didn't go unnoticed. Lucas had tried texting her and calling her several times throughout the days, but she'd never answer. She'd have her phone in her hand when the calls and texts would go through, but she never did anything about them. But Riley knew Sienna was right and that it would hurt a lot less if Lucas heard the news from her instead of his cousin.

Lucas, now worried about Riley since she wasn't answering her phone, turned to Sienna for some answers. He called her one day after his shift at the clinic and was pleasantly surprised that she had picked up.

"Sienna, you busy?" Lucas asked as soon as Sienna picked up.

"No, I just got home from the bakery," Sienna lied. She hadn't talked to Lucas for a while, and she wasn't about to tell him that she quit her job. She didn't want to worry him from thousands of miles away. She was going to let the call go unanswered, but she felt at ease after quitting her job and confronting Riley.

"Okay, good," Lucas said. "Do you know why Riley hasn't been answering her phone?"

"Not sure," Sienna quickly answered, uninterested.

"What do you mean? You see her every day!" Lucas reminded her.

She shrugged to herself, "Not lately."

"Why not?"

"She took a couple of days off, Evan's been taking care of things," Sienna lied once again. She cringed when she said his name. Saying his name took her over the edge. Her voice started to crack and she knew she was on the verge of crying. Lucas took notice of this. He knew his cousin well. She swallowed the lump in her throat, "Not too sure why though."

At this point, Lucas wasn't worried about Riley anymore. He was worried about Sienna. He knew something was bothering her, and to him, family always came first, no matter what.

"Sienna, are you okay?" Lucas asked softly.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she wiped the tears that began to trickle their way down her cheeks.

"You don't sound okay," Lucas sighed. He paused before continuing, "You know you can tell me anything."

Sienna lost it.

"I can't, Luke," Sienna admitted. Her breathing got uneven and she began to sob. "I can't tell you. Not this, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Lucas furrowed his brows. He had no idea what his cousin was talking about. "Sienna, please."

"Fine!" Sienna yelled. She paused to catch her breath. "I quit the bakery, okay? I haven't seen Riley in days. I don't know what's going on with your _precious_ little girlfriend."

"What, why did you quit?" Lucas began to worry. He wasn't sure what was going on back in New York but he knew it was nothing good.

"Because it's all your fault! You never should have left!" Sienna shrieked. Her voice suddenly softened, "You should've stayed in New York. None of this would've happened…"

"What happened?!" Lucas wanted to pull his hair out of his scalp. He so badly wanted to know what was going on but Sienna was being stubborn and wanted to keep things to herself.

Sienna finally calmed down a minute later and sighed, "Nothing, Luke."

Before Lucas could manage a reply, she hung up on him. He groaned. In a panic, he tapped on his phone and booked the next available flight to New York. Once it was confirmed, he rushed downstairs to confront Pappy Joe, who was on the couch watching a rodeo on TV.

"Boy, what's wrong?" Pappy Joe asked when he saw Lucas in a distressed state.

"There's something going on with Sienna," Lucas explained. "I just got off the phone with her and she was crying. Aunt Deana had been telling me that there was something off with Sienna lately. I need to go back to New York."

Pappy Joe stood up, "And what about your internship? It took a lot for me to get that for you. I know you care about your cousin but you just can't throw this all away!"

Lucas put a hand on Pappy Joe's shoulder and assured him, "I'm only going to be gone for a couple days. Please, Pappy Joe, figure something out. You know family comes first."

Pappy Joe sighed and gave in. He knew his grandson was right, family came first and he was glad that Lucas valued family as much as he did.

* * *

After a much needed pep-talk from Maya, Riley had finally built up the courage to tell Lucas everything. She took a deep breath. Maya patted Riley on the back before she returned to the front of the bakery. Was Riley really about to do this? Was she really about to tell him that she kissed someone that _wasn't_ him?

"Hey," Lucas breathed. Hearing his voice made Riley's heart beat a mile a minute. She was suddenly considering backing out. But she knew she had to tell him sooner or later. And she also knew that sooner would be better than later. She couldn't stand to keep things from him, and so keeping this from him would only make her go insane from the guilt.

"Lucas," Riley closed her eyes and took another deep breath. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," he replied softly. "How about we talk—"

Riley felt someone's presence suddenly in the room. She turned to the intruder. She dropped her arm to her side when she saw it was the one person she dreaded to see—Lucas.

"Face to face."

* * *

 **You guys! Another cliffhanger? I'm sorry! I couldn't help myself. It was a perfect place to end this chapter.**

 **Also, since I don't write angst too often, I want to know what you think. How am I doing writing this fic? Am I hitting you guys in the feels? Like, not the fluffy feels, but the angsty ones?**


	5. Chapter Five

**So I just watched Sweet Sixteen and Goodbye. At first I was reluctant to watch the episodes because of Rucas spoilers and how their scenes don't seem to be a good thing but honestly I loved them. And in Goodbye everyone was talking about how Farkle's reaction was so important (like yeah I get they filmed Corey several times but still) it kind of scared me that Lucas's reaction didn't matter but I was pleasantly surprised with how he handled the news. I loved that Zay promised to take care of Lucas for Riley and that Lucas said he'd never forget about her. And like I cried when Lucas got up and asked for Riley to talk to him outside, and then afterwards when he was staring at her after she left. LOVED IT. Also, that scene didn't seem like a breakup to me the way non Rucas shippers were saying it looked like. But hey, I guess it's open to interpretation.**

 **So basically what I'm saying is, even if GMW doesn't get picked up by another network, I'm very happy with the way MJ ended the show in regards to Rucas. My Rucas heart is so full right now and I'm sure you're all feeling the same way. (I'm still bitter about the cut scenes from previous eps though.)**

 **Sorry for the relatively long author's note, I just felt the need to get my opinion out there especially because of the perceived Rucas negativity in the final episodes. (Side note: I don't like how the final shot of Goodbye was of Maya. Like come on, it should've been Riley.) On with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Five

Riley couldn't believe her eyes. Was Lucas really there with her? Or was she just hallucinating? Her question was answered when he walked towards her and immediately pulled her into a hug. Riley couldn't keep herself composed while she was in his arms. She started to sob. He pulled away from her to look down at her and planted a kiss on her forehead. When he looked at her face, his smile quickly turned into a frown as he realized she wasn't crying happy tears. What Lucas had expected to be a sentimental reunion turned out to be a dramatic one.

"Riley, aren't you happy to see me?" Lucas looked at her with worried eyes. It wasn't the response he expected from her. He knew there was something wrong. He knew there was something wrong the minute he realized she was intentionally avoiding his calls and messages.

Riley looked down at her feet. She didn't respond. With him there, she had no choice but to tell him. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it from him. The guilt was eating her alive and she didn't like the feeling. She hadn't been able to sleep for the past few nights and this secret was taking an emotional toll on her. He needed to know. He deserved to know.

"I have something to tell you," Riley's heart was pounding in her ears. "I'm… a terrible person."

"No, you're not, babe," Lucas rubbed both her arms, trying to comfort her. She stepped away from him. It was the first time she had ever done that. And in that moment, Lucas knew this was something serious. And he had no idea what was about to come his way.

"Yes!" Riley said a little too loudly, lifting her head up to meet his evidently worried eyes. Looking into those eyes only added on to her guilt. She looked at her feet once again. Her voice softened, "I am."

"Riles…" Lucas couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. He hated seeing her like that. But he also hated that she pulled away from him. He furrowed his brows, "What did you do?"

Riley kept her gaze on the floor, she didn't know if she was able to look at him in the face again and she wasn't about to risk it. She was already on the verge of more tears. Words couldn't explain how guilty she felt. She mentally beat herself up over putting themselves in this situation. She wished there was a way to take it all back. She wasn't quite sure how she ended up here. Riley Matthews, the girl who always did what was best for everyone. Someone who was loyal to her family and friends. What had gotten into her? This was the worst thing she's ever done, and Riley Matthews wasn't a bad person.

She didn't answer him so soon. She let the tears fall down her cheeks and Lucas immediately wrapped his arms around her. The warmth of his touch made her feel remorseful all over again. She hated that he was giving her affection, especially when she gave her affection to someone else. Lucas softly squeezed her arm and buried his face in her hair. He couldn't bear to see her like that. She looked so helpless, and all he wanted to do was protect her from the world. He had no idea he was going to have to try to protect her from himself.

"I… I kissed someone else," Riley said softly. She wasn't sure if she said it out loud or if she had said it in her head, but the look on Lucas's face told her everything. She looked up at him with guilty eyes that threatened to release more tears. She couldn't help but notice his clenched jaw. That told her what she needed to know. He was angry, and he had every right to be.

Lucas released her from his grasp and took a couple of steps back. It took him a minute to process her words, and once he pinched himself to ensure he wasn't dreaming, he became furious. He balled his fists on either side of him and took a deep breath.

"Was it Evan?"

Riley hesitated, but she nodded in confirmation. She once again focused her gaze on her feet and put her hand on her opposite arm in an attempt to comfort herself. It didn't work. She didn't think anything could comfort her at all in that moment. All she wanted to do was run home, bury herself under her bedsheets and cry until she couldn't cry anymore.

Lucas shook his head, clearly showing how disappointed he was in her. How could she do that to him? They've been through hell and back, and now this? He scoffed and tried to focus his gaze on anything else in the room besides her. Unfortunately, his eyes landed on the photo of the two of them that rested on Riley's desk. They were so happy; unlike what they were feeling in their current situation.

"Please say something," Riley whispered. She looked up at him, but he clearly didn't want to look at her.

"I can't," his voice cracked. He shook his head once more. "Not when you threw away everything we had." He walked towards a wall and pounded his fist into it before raising his voice. "God, Riley! I gave you _everything_. And this is how you repay me? By kissing some guy you barely know?!"

"Lucas, please," Riley sobbed. "Let me explain."

"No," Lucas could feel the tears in his eyes. He wanted to hear the whole story, but at the same time, he didn't. Deep down he knew that Riley had probably prepared some huge apology that included excuses in regards to what happened, but there was no coming back from this. She violated his trust, and forgiving her would only give her the chance to do it again. He turned around to face Riley. "When did this happen?"

"Like two weeks ago," Riley shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

Lucas clenched his jaw. "Two weeks?! It happened two weeks ago and you didn't care to tell me? Riley, I thought I knew you better than that."

Riley opened her mouth to speak, but Lucas didn't let her. He took a step closer to her. Riley noticed the tears in his eyes.

"I don't know you at all," Lucas said harshly.

That was all it took to destroy the usually perky brunette. The pain in his eyes were far too evident to go unnoticed by Riley. It scared her, the way he was acting. And she hated that she was the one to blame for all of this.

Lucas decided he couldn't take it anymore, so he bit his lip and backed out of the room. He couldn't look at her, which was a new feeling to him. The past few years all Lucas ever wanted was to see Riley and be with her, but now? He just wanted to get away from her.

Once Lucas was gone, Riley broke down in tears. Her legs couldn't carry her weight anymore and so Riley ended up sobbing uncontrollably on the floor. Her breathing was uneven, and she wasn't sure if she'd able to breathe properly after how much she's cried. She didn't bother trying to get up, she felt that she deserved to be on the floor—in rock bottom. And she couldn't even blame anyone else, she did this to herself, to Lucas.

Riley remained on the floor for a couple of minutes after she got control of her breathing. She wiped her tears with her sleeve, not even caring about how dirty her sleeve got due to the smeared makeup all over her face. She was an absolute mess. How was she and Lucas going to bounce back from this? Was it even possible for Lucas to forgive her? Right from the get-go Lucas knew about Riley's insecurities entering the relationship. He promised her that there was never any other woman for him, and that it would always be her. Never in a million years did he ever think that Riley would cheat on him.

The guilt overcame Riley once again.

"Hey, I just saw Lucas," Evan said as he walked into the office. He furrowed his brows in confusion and scanned the room until his eyes landed on Riley, laying helplessly on the floor. "You okay?"

"You're not supposed to be here, Evan," Riley whispered. Since their confrontation days prior, Riley had made sure to schedule their shifts so that they would never see each other. So why was he there?

"I know," Evan replied. "I forgot my leather jacket and I'm going out tonight."

"I don't care," Riley shook her head. She took a deep breath and wiped her tears. "Just leave. I need to be alone right now."

"Can I help?" Evan offered.

"No," she shook her head. "You've already done enough."

"Riley, I get that you're upset with me, and you have every right to be," Evan said. "But I'm offering you some help. You look like you need some cheering up."

"I don't need your help," Riley said through gritted teeth. "Seriously, get out."

Riley was starting to get annoyed with Evan's persistence. When he didn't budge after telling him to leave, she quickly got up and smoothed her clothes. She tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Can you just please leave me alone?!" Riley shouted. Evan stared at her, stunned. Riley didn't wait for a response and headed towards the front of the bakery. She figured that she would drown herself in her work in order to distract herself from her thoughts.

* * *

After storming out of the bakery, he walked down the streets of Manhattan with no direction whatsoever. He just needed the fresh air to calm him down. When he decided he was calm, he arrived at an apartment building a couple of blocks from his. He let himself in and found Sienna sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Lucas?" Sienna's head whipped towards the door, surprised to see her older cousin standing there. She stood up.

Lucas, still angry about the confrontation he had with Riley earlier, said nothing and walked towards Sienna to pull her into a hug. He rested his head on hers and rubbed her back. He then began to sob. When he got his breathing under control, he pulled away from the hug and sat down on the couch with her.

"What are you doing here?" Sienna asked. She knew better than to ask why he was crying. Though Lucas was comfortable enough crying around her, he didn't like her acknowledging it. "Shouldn't you be in Texas right now birthing horses?"

"You sounded so upset over the phone last we talked," Lucas said softly, wiping his eyes. "I had a feeling you needed me. So here I am."

"What about Riley?" Sienna asked.

"She's not important right now," Lucas waved his hand in the space between him and Sienna. Sienna squinted her eyes, she saw right through him. As much as he loved Sienna, she knew that Riley was also a priority of his.

"You talked to her," Sienna assumed. It wasn't like him to disregard Riley like that.

Lucas sighed and nervously laughed, "I did."

Sienna didn't say a word, knowing he didn't want to talk about it yet, and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for a while. Lucas was drowning in his thoughts and Sienna was just there to rub his back to comfort him. Lucas still couldn't wrap his head around what had happened. Riley… kissed Evan? How did that even happen? Did she like Evan? Why didn't she tell him sooner?

About half an hour had passed and Lucas finally decided to break the silence.

"You knew," he assumed, turning to face Sienna.

"Yeah," Sienna breathed. "I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lucas asked. He wanted to be angry at Sienna, but he knew he couldn't be. Not when she was his source of comfort at the moment.

"I-I didn't think," Sienna began, then took a deep breath, "it was my right to."

"And why not?" Lucas retorted. "We're blood. You have every right."

"Because I knew it would hurt more coming from me," Sienna admitted. "I wanted you to find out from her. She messed up here, not me. She needed to fix things on her own."

"Oh, Sienna," Lucas sighed. "You should've told me as soon as you found out. Honestly, it hurt more from her because she took so long to tell me. When did you find out?"

"I was there," Sienna muttered, "when it happened."

"I'm sorry?" Lucas clenched his jaw. He wasn't sure if Sienna said what he thought he heard.

"I saw them kiss," Sienna said.

"Sienna!" Lucas yelled and stood up. His breathing got heavy and he balled his fists. He paced the room as he gathered his thoughts. Now he couldn't help but to be at least a little bit angry at her. She actually witnessed the kiss, and she _still_ didn't bother to tell him? "God, how could you be so—ugh! Did Riley tell you to keep her mouth shut?"

"No, of course not!" Sienna replied. She felt her face heat up and her eyes fill with tears. "Well, I mean, she did afterward when I told her that I knew, but it was days after it happened. I told her I wouldn't tell you, as long as she promised she would."

"Doesn't matter, you should've told me!" Lucas threw his hands in the air. "Then maybe I wouldn't have bothered to go surprise her."

"You came back for her?" Sienna asked softly. She felt guilty. She knew how much Lucas was invested in his relationship, but the pain was inevitable. He was going to find out either way, from someone, and he was going to be crushed.

"Partly," Lucas confirmed, sitting back down beside Sienna. "She hadn't been answering her phone. I was worried about her, like I was worried about you. Now I know why she was ignoring me." He shook his head. "But mostly I came for you. You seemed like you were in a bad place. And you said it wouldn't have happened if I never left."

"Luke, it's true," Sienna said, allowing a few tears to fall freely down her cheeks. "If you stayed, you and Riley wouldn't have had this problem. I just wanted you to be happy. And you don't seem very happy right now."

"I'm not," Lucas laughed. "But you aren't either. What was the problem?"

"The Riley thing," Sienna confessed. "It killed me that I wasn't able to tell you. And I hated going to work. Everything about the bakery just ruined me. I hated seeing Evan. I hated seeing Riley. It killed me that every time I saw either one of them, I thought of you and how you had no idea what was going on. The day I confronted Riley, I couldn't take it anymore, so that was when I quit."

"Sienna," Lucas sighed, pulling her head into his chest. "You have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known."

"And Riley?"

Lucas didn't answer. He knew Riley had a big heart too, but was questioning it after she betrayed him.

"I'm sorry," Sienna said. "For everything."

"It's okay," Lucas replied. "I hate that you had to bottle all of that up inside. I hate that you had to protect me, when I should be doing that for you. Maybe you're right. Maybe I shouldn't have accepted that internship. Maybe I should've just stayed in New York to help you adjust."

"Maybe Riley wouldn't have acted out," Sienna whispered. "I know you love her."

Lucas sighed and looked around the room, "I'm not sure if I still do."

* * *

"Maya, can you please come back to the bakery?" Riley said into her phone. She was still in shock from her encounter with Lucas and really needed her best friend.

"Why, honey, what happened with Lucas?" Maya asked. "Did you work things out?"

"H-h-how did you know he was here?" Riley replied. She began to play with the collar of her shirt out of anxiety.

"He was on his way in when I left," Maya answered. "Didn't say anything to him though. But by the sound of your voice I'm guess things didn't go well?"

"No, Peaches," Riley sighed. "I'm a mess and I need you here."

"On my way," Maya replied.

Riley sighed and put her phone down. She was doing a good job at keeping herself composed but she knew she would have another breakdown soon if she didn't have any support. And her only support was Maya. She was the only one in their circle of friends who knew what was going on. Riley couldn't bring herself to tell her other friends in fear of what they would think of her.

As Riley fixed the display case at the counter, she noticed Zay and Farkle run into the bakery. They stopped at the counter to catch their breaths. They had run all the way there from the nearest subway station. When they heard the news that Lucas was temporarily back in the city, they wanted to see them as soon as possible.

"We heard Lucas was here!" Zay panted, his hands on his knees.

"Where is he?!" Farkle aggressively asked, leaning over the counter to grab Riley's shirt.

Riley swatted Farkle's hands away from her and replied stoically, "Lucas isn't here."

"B-but, we heard he was," Zay pouted. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Maya said so."

"Was," Riley confirmed. "He left a while ago."

Farkle pouted. Then he noticed Riley's demeanor. If Lucas was back, shouldn't Riley have been happier than she was showing? Wouldn't she have asked Evan or Maya to cover for her so she could spend time with Lucas? Farkle figured something was up.

"Are you okay?" Farkle asked, evidently concerned. He could see right through Riley almost as well as Maya could. He's known her since the first grade, after all.

Riley nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat, "I'm fine. Go find Lucas, I'm sure he'll want to spend time with his best friends before he goes back to Texas."

It was Zay's turn to be suspicious. The tone in Riley's voice said it all. She struggled with her words. Zay realized something must have happened between the couple. He was shocked. He knew how strong Lucas's relationship was with Riley. Nothing could ever keep them apart. Distance must've taken its toll on them, he figured. Zay sighed. He and Riley had grown closer over the years, and it killed him to see Riley bottling up her feelings inside. But he knew better than to try to get the information out of her when it was clear she didn't want to talk about it.

Zay and Farkle exchanged looks. They knew exactly what they were both thinking. They decided to leave it alone for now and let Riley sort things out. Whatever Riley and Lucas were going through; their friends were certain they'd be able to work things out. They were Riley and Lucas, after all.

* * *

 **I cringed when I wrote that first scene. My babies seemed so helpless! I felt bad for both of them. I'm sure they'll work things out. What do you guys think?**


	6. Chapter Six

**Wasn't sure what direction I was trying to go in this chapter so I wrote aimlessly. Mostly a filler chapter. Thanks again for all your feedback.**

* * *

Chapter Six

Lucas texted Farkle and Zay to meet up with him at a bar that night. He couldn't make a spontaneous trip home without seeing his best friends. Lucas arrived half an hour early to the bar to get a couple of drinks in before the guys arrived. He really needed the extra alcohol in his system in order to forget about what happened with Riley earlier that day. When he noticed his two friends walk in, he waved to them to come over.

"Lucas, man, we missed you," Zay said as he gave Lucas a pat on the back.

"I can't believe you're back," Farkle beamed as he gave Lucas a fist bump.

"I fly back tomorrow," Lucas replied then took a shot of vodka. His friends frowned. "Still have that internship, remember? I'll be back again in a couple of weeks, don't worry. The summer's flying by. Besides, you guys have been busy, too. I'm sure you haven't even noticed I was gone."

"Of course we noticed!" Zay said. He and Farkle took a seat on either side of Lucas. "It's been all work and no play. This semester of summer school better be worth it."

Lucas chuckled, "I've never seen you so focused on school."

"I have no choice," Zay shrugged. "My GPA after first year was so shit." He gave Farkle a look. "And Smarkle has no time to tutor me anymore."

"Hey, Smackle and I have our own education to worry about," Farkle defended himself. Back in high school, the genius couple always offered to help their friends out with school work. But once university started, the heavy course load was too much, even for them.

"You know I could've tutored you, Zay," Lucas said.

Zay smiled and shook his head, "No, you couldn't have. When you weren't in class you were with Riley."

Lucas clenched his jaw at the mention of her. He wanted to have a good time tonight with the boys, he didn't want it to turn into a therapy session with his two best friends. He looked forward and was fortunate to see a bartender approach them. He figured now was good a time as any to order drinks for him and his friends.

"So what brings you back here so sudden?" Farkle asked once the three got their drinks. Unlike Riley, Lucas hadn't kept touch with the boys. Even with the lack of communication, they knew they'd always be best friends whenever they reunited. That's just how male friendships worked.

"Uh," Lucas looked around, trying to find the right words. "I came back for Sienna. Something was going on with her. Figured I needed to come check on her because she really wouldn't say anything over the phone." Technically, he wasn't lying, he just wasn't telling them the whole truth. Not that they needed to know right now, anyway.

"You came back for like a day just for your cousin?" Zay said. Lucas nodded. "Family goals right there, man."

"I mean, how could I not?" Lucas shrugged. "She just moved to New York right when I was about to go to Texas for the summer. I knew the transition was going to be hard on her without me here."

Farkle and Zay had agreed earlier that they weren't going to bring up Riley. But since Zay already did, Farkle decided he would to. So he asked, "So you're saying you didn't come back for Riley?"

Zay shot daggers at Farkle without Lucas noticing. Zay so badly wanted to hit Farkle over the head with a wine bottle. They needed to stay out of it. He knew he had mentioned Riley moments before, but it wasn't like he was prying into Lucas's relationship. And if there was one thing they learned from meddling whenever Riley and Lucas had a fight, they knew that the couple would be able to fix it themselves.

"Well, of course I did," Lucas replied truthfully, seeming to be unfazed by Farkle's question. Though Lucas figured it was because of the alcohol in his system that allowed him to feel numb. He took a drink of his beer and shrugged. "But she's been doing fine without me."

Zay and Farkle exchanged looks once again when Lucas took a sip from his drink after answering Farkle's question. They knew they shouldn't interfere, but they were so curious as to what went down earlier that day at Topanga's.

"She's missed you, Lucas," Farkle told him. "And I know you missed her."

"Can we not talk about her tonight?" Lucas requested. He had grown irritated in the short moments they've talked about her, and he was glad that he wasn't completely sober, otherwise he knew he would've just lost it at the thought of her. "I just want to have a guys' night. I really need this. I have long shifts at the clinic and I barely have any free time. This is the first time all summer that I've gone out."

Strange. Lucas always liked to talk about Riley, even during a guys' night. He was just that smitten with her. Zay and Farkle figured that there was something really wrong going on between the two. And they needed to know. They realized that the only way to get any information out of him was to get him more than a little bit tipsy.

* * *

After the Riley and Maya closed the bakery, Riley went home while Maya took a quick trip to her apartment. Riley requested Maya that come over and Maya wasn't going to leave her best friend like that alone for the night. So she went to grab her overnight bag and quickly packed what she usually brought for sleepovers, then rushed to go be with Riley.

"How's my honey doing?" Maya asked as she crawled in through Riley's bedroom window. Even at nineteen, she still couldn't break the habit of entering the Matthews' apartment through her best friend's window.

"I'm holding up," Riley replied. She was laying in her bed under the covers. She wanted to get some sleep that night, and she knew she would since Maya's presence would give her enough comfort to actually sleep through the night.

"Farkle texted me, he and Zay are out with Lucas," Maya informed Riley, typing a response on her phone to send back to Farkle. She sat at the window with her overnight bag beside her.

"I don't care," Riley huffed, pulling the covers over her face.

Maya rolled her eyes and got up. She walked over to Riley's bed and pulled the covers off of the brunette. She narrowed her eyes, "I know you do."

"Well, I wish I didn't," Riley pouted.

"Hello, my intellectual inferiors!" a familiar voice came from the window. Riley and Maya turned their heads towards the sound and was greeted by a cheery Smackle. She crawled in through the window with a duffel bag in hand.

"Smackle, what are you doing here?" Riley asked. She hadn't seen her in weeks. Smackle was volunteering at a research lab with Farkle for the summer and so they spent most of their time at the university. Riley got up from her bed and walked over to Smackle to greet her with a hug.

"Farkle told me Lucas was in town and that they were having a guys' night," Smackle said, placing her bag beside Maya's. "So Maya invited me over so we can have a girls' night!"

Riley looked over at Maya, who plopped down on the bed and threw her hands in the air. "Surprise!"

"I really don't want to do this," Riley groaned. "Thanks for coming, Smackle, but I don't think we'll be having any fun tonight."

"And why not, bubbles?" Smackle asked, putting her arm around the brunette.

"Something happened with Lucas," Maya informed the genius. Riley shot the blonde a look. Maya looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, Riles, but you know all of our friends are going to find out eventually. He's bound to tell Farkle and Zay. And Farkle's going to tell Smackle anyway."

"Yeah, besides, you know I'm here for you," Smackle said, resting her head on Riley's shoulder. In response, Riley gave her another hug. Once they parted, Smackle said, "I was wondering why Lucas wasn't spending time with you and is with the guys instead. And I assume he won't be in the city for very long since he still has the internship. What happened?"

Riley sighed. She dragged Smackle onto the bed to sit beside Maya.

* * *

The boys decided to play some pool while at the bar. They played a couple of rounds, and Farkle and Zay watched Lucas drink like his life depended on it. They didn't need to order him drinks in order to keep their plan moving along, since Lucas was already doing it himself. Drink after drink. They'd never seen him drink that much before, but they knew of his high tolerance of alcohol, so they weren't too worried. In fact, they were thrilled. The more alcohol he consumed, the higher the chance he would tell them what happened with Riley. Drunk Lucas was very stubborn and had no filter, so he would do and say things without a second thought. Plus, drunk words were sober thoughts.

"Think he'll be drunk enough to let us talk about Riley?" Farkle nudged Zay as they watched Lucas take his turn at the pool table.

"I've never seen him drink this much before," Zay replied. "So I would say yes." He shrugged. "Well, I mean, if he doesn't, you know, pass out before we get the chance to ask."

"Can I get another beer?" Lucas requested as a waiter walked by.

"I think that should do it," Zay muttered.

"It better," Farkle said. "I feel like I'm going to throw up if I watch him drink any more. How does he do it?"

Lucas looked over to his friends, "Did you guys want another one?" The boys shook their heads frantically before continuing their discrete conversation.

"He was a social drinker in high school, remember?" Zay reminded the genius. "Whenever he went to a party his teammates threw, he always got hammered."

"Riley didn't appreciate his drinking habits," Farkle commented, shaking his head.

"No, she did not," Zay agreed with a nod.

When Lucas got a hold of the beer he ordered, his friends watched him down the liquid in one go. At this point, Zay and Farkle didn't even react. Lucas had been that way the entire night. They weren't quite sure how he still managed to be standing straight and speaking with an understandable slur.

"Wanna try it?" Zay nudged Farkle. Farkle nodded and walked around the pool table to stand beside Lucas.

"What happened with Riley?" Farkle asked.

Without hesitation, Lucas replied, "Oh, her? She's a cheater."

"Cheater?" Zay's eyes widened.

"Yup," Lucas replied, popping the 'p.' He walked over to a nearby vacant table to sit down. The two followed and sat with him.

"Riley, Riley Matthews?" Farkle said. "Riley _cheated_ on you?"

"Uh huh," Lucas confirmed with an unsteady nod.

"You must be kidding," Zay said monotonously.

"No!" Lucas said a little too loudly. "Why would I be kidding about this shit? She kissed Evan! It happened weeks ago and she didn't bother to tell me."

"Evan?!" the two exclaimed in unison.

"The guy she hired?" Zay asked to clarify.

Lucas gave them another shaky nod. The alcohol was starting to really get to him.

"I don't like him," Farkle concluded.

"You never even met the guy!" Zay pointed out. It's not that Zay was trying to defend Evan. That wasn't the case at all. He was just stating facts. Farkle hadn't met Evan before.

"Neither have you!" retorted Farkle. "But the guy's a scumbag. If he was able to kiss Riley while she had a boyfriend, he's automatically no good. He's a bad influence. Riley would never do anything like that."

"God, Sugar is like one of my favorite people," Zay shook his head. "Rainbows and sunshine and all that good stuff. I thought she overcame Sassy Halter-top when she apologized for eating my cookie all those years ago?!"

Zay grabbed his face with his hands in frustration. Farkle didn't even know how to react. The information was too much for them to handle. Was Riley Matthews really capable of cheating on Lucas Friar? It didn't sound like something she would do.

* * *

Once Smackle was caught up with what happened with Riley and Lucas, she initially was shocked. Who wouldn't be? Riley wasn't that kind of person. But as a woman of science, Smackle tried to make sense of it all.

"I'm not proud of what you did, Riley," Smackle said truthfully.

"I know; I don't expect you guys to side with me!" Riley said as she buried her face in her hands. She wanted to feel better, but talking about the whole thing made her feel worse. She couldn't justify what she did. Her only excuse was that it was in the moment, she was vulnerable, and she missed Lucas. She didn't expect anyone's forgiveness for this.

"Oh, honey," Maya said as she rubbed Riley's back. She shot a look at Smackle. "Smackle, get to the point!"

"Okay, okay!" Smackle replied. "I'm not proud that you did it but I think I know why you did. You've been really stressed out with the bakery, with what I can tell. And I assume you and Lucas were communicating less and less because you were both so busy. You were weak and so you kissed Evan. But you imagined it was Lucas the whole time."

"Yes, you totally get me!" Riley exclaimed, then threw herself at Smackle. She sobbed heavily into her shoulder. "It was all just a silly mistake. I really do regret it. I don't even like Evan like that! My heart belongs to Lucas. I want him back. Do you think he'll forgive me?"

"Well," Smackle said, "I don't think it'll be all that simple."

"You should talk to him," Maya suggested. "To clear things up."

"I don't think that's going to happen," Riley sighed. "I tried to explain but he just walked out on me."

"He's in that initial state of shock," Smackle responded. "He needs some time to think. That was a lot of information to process. Maybe you should wait until he comes to you."

"And what if he doesn't?"

"Then I don't know," Smackle shrugged with a frown. "I'm a genius but you know I've never been good with feelings."

"Okay, enough with this, let's put in a movie and make some popcorn," Maya said, getting up and finding the remote for Riley's TV. "Now that Smackle's caught up, we can have a relaxing, peaceful girls' night. I promise we won't talk about him for the rest of the night."

"Okay," Riley nodded as she pulled herself out of Smackle's loose grasp. The corners of her mouth curved up to form a weak smile. "I'm really grateful to have you guys in my life. I don't know how I'd be able to handle all of this without you. I'm sorry I dragged you all into this, though."

"No, bubbles," Smackle said. "The only person you should be apologizing to is Lucas. We're just here to comfort you."

* * *

"I'm over it," Lucas said, shaking his head. "I'm over her."

"Lucas, you're drunk, you don't mean that," Farkle said, gripping both of the green-eyed boy's shoulders.

"Yes, I do," Lucas replied.

"No, you don't," Zay insisted. "This is why Riley doesn't like you drinking so much. You become stubborn and more susceptible of saying and doing stupid shit."

"Whatever," Lucas waved his hand in the space between him and his friends. He sluggishly got up and practically dragged himself to the bar to retrieve another drink.

"Does he even have a limit?" Farkle asked.

"No, but I think this may be his last drink," Zay commented. He walked over to their extremely drunk friend and put his arm around him. "We're taking you home, buddy."

The boys got an Uber to Lucas's apartment. The bar they were at was only a couple of blocks down from the apartment, but Farkle and Zay decided against attempting to drag a very stubborn Lucas all the way home.

When they got inside, they were greeted by Sienna. Zay was delighted to see her, as the last time he saw her was back in Texas, but Sienna disregarded his and Farkle's presence immediately, running over to her clearly intoxicated cousin instead.

"What did you do to my cousin?!" Sienna screeched, helping Lucas sit on the couch. Drunk Lucas seemed tired out, as he immediately laid down, his limbs flopping around in the process. Sienna had come over to Lucas's apartment because he promised that when he came back from the bar, they'd watch a movie and catch each other up with their lives. She did not, however, expect to see him flat out drunk.

"More like what did he do to himself," Farkle corrected. He held out his hand to the girl. "You must be Sienna. I'm Farkle."

"Hi Farkle, you're the genius, correct?" Sienna shook his hand. Farkle nodded. Sienna then shook her head, "Okay, back to the situation here. What happened to Lucas?"

"He drank a little too much, obviously," Zay snickered.

"Why did you let him get to this point?!" Sienna asked.

"We cut him off, if that helps," Farkle shrugged. "He handles his alcohol well. He's drunk, but he's not blackout drunk."

"Yeah," Zay said. "He'll remember everything in the morning."

"Does this have anything to do with Riley?" Sienna immediately asked. Sienna also knew that Lucas was a heavyweight when it came to alcohol, but it was unusual that he would drink that much. She's never seen him that drunk before where his friends had to carry him home.

Farkle and Zay exchanged looks. It made sense to them now. Why he had drunk so much. He wanted to forget about Riley. But instead, he was forced to tell his friends what she did. In their defense, Lucas voluntarily told them. They just asked.

Sienna, impatient for their answer, rolled her eyes and ushered them out the door.


	7. Chapter Seven

**By no means do I want any of you to side with Riley. What she did was wrong. But I'm also not trying to make her the bad guy. In reality, sometimes people in relationships make stupid mistakes like this. Sometimes, they get through it. And sometimes, they don't.**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Lucas woke up the next morning with a blurry memory of what happened last night. He couldn't quite recall all the details, but he remembered the gist of it. Most importantly, he remembered that he told his friends about what happened with Riley. He didn't want them to know. He wanted the situation to be just between the two of them, because they were mature enough to resolve it on their own. But nope, Lucas just _had_ to get drunk and he kind of resented Farkle and Zay for not cutting him off sooner. But, what's done was done. And today, he flew back to Texas.

Lucas couldn't help thinking about Riley and Evan ever since he woke up. He knew he shouldn't have been, but couldn't stop himself. Sienna warned him several times about it when she was making him food to cure his hangover. But he didn't listen to her. After breakfast, he decided he was going to have a conversation with Evan before he flew back to Texas that afternoon. Sienna had explained that after the whole mishap, Riley and Evan decided not to work the same shifts anymore. So it was perfect for Lucas to confront the culprit without Riley being there.

Sienna was well aware of Lucas's plan to threaten Evan even though he hadn't explicitly told her. She had a feeling she knew what was going on in his mind. She tried to stop him. She didn't want to make things worse than they already were. She still blamed herself for the whole situation because she knew she could've saved her cousin from a lot of heartache. But of course, Lucas didn't listen. His sense of direction was gone when his anger took over.

Lucas stood outside Topanga's with clenched fists. He mentally prepared himself for what was about to come. He didn't want to let his anger take over his body, he didn't think it was worth it to lose it over a guy like Evan. But when it came to Riley, he knew he had to fight for her, no matter how angry he was at her. It made no sense, but Riley and Lucas never did. They just worked.

He entered the bakery, silently hoping that neither Topanga or Maya were there. He was glad to see Evan alone at the counter. He slowly walked towards him.

"Evan," Lucas said sternly as he approached the counter.

"Lucas," Evan replied. He walked around the counter to stand in front of Lucas. He had expected to be in this situation. He knew that at some point Lucas was going to want to talk to him about the whole thing.

"We need to talk," Lucas demanded.

"About what?" Evan pretended to play innocent, tilting his head. He knew damn well why Lucas was there. But he couldn't let Lucas have the advantage. He figured he'd play with him a bit.

"You know what," Lucas spat. Evan shrugged. Lucas rolled his eyes. "You _knew_ she had a boyfriend," he paused, "and you _still_ kissed her! What the hell is the matter with you?!"

"I'm not sorry that I kissed her, okay?" Evan shrugged again.

"Well you should be," Lucas responded. "You shouldn't have kissed her."

"Who else was gonna do it?" Evan scoffed. "You weren't there to."

"That doesn't give you the right, man!" Lucas poked his chest. Evan quickly swatted his hand off him.

"How did you not see this coming?" Evan replied. "You left her. You weren't there for her. She was a literal mess. What kind of boyfriend isn't there for his girlfriend when she needs him the most?"

"You know nothing about my relationship," Lucas said firmly.

"I know it wasn't a very strong one," Evan laughed dryly. "Why else would she have kissed me?"

"Look, who knows what the hell was going on in her head when she kissed you," Lucas gritted his teeth. "You said she was a mess. She probably wasn't even in the right state of mind when it happened. I just wanna know why you think you think you're entitled to get in the middle of a perfectly healthy relationship?"

"I couldn't help myself," Evan said with a straight face. "Whether she had a boyfriend didn't matter to me. I wanted to kiss her. So I did. Whether she liked the kiss or not is entirely up to her."

"Well what if I couldn't help myself but to punch you in the face?" Lucas responded, raising his fist in front of him. Evan seemed unfazed, nonchalantly raising a hand to cover Lucas's fist, slowly bringing it down.

"Ha, cute," Evan chuckled. Lucas _hated_ how level-headed Evan was. It irritated him to no end. He wanted to get some kind of rise out of him. "You know that now you two are over, she and I are going to eventually end up together. It's inevitable."

"I swear to god," Lucas muttered. He raised his fist again. "Your face and my fist are eventually going to end up together. It's inevitable."

Evan didn't try to stop him this time. He didn't even flinch when he noticed Lucas's fist slowly making its way towards his perfectly chiseled face. Lucas was in mid-swing when a voice stopped him.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Maya appeared. She heard about the debacle from an employee and immediately ran to the front of the bakery so stop all the commotion.

Lucas sighed and looked down in the defeat.

"You know _exactly_ what's going on, Maya," Lucas turned to look at the blonde. He turned to Evan again and took a step closer. "You know what? This isn't even worth it. You can have her."

"Lucas!" Maya gasped. "You don't mean that."

Lucas stared at Maya with blank eyes before shaking his head and walking away. As soon as he was gone, Evan relaxed and released a sigh of relief. He didn't show it earlier, but he was honestly intimidated by the green-eyed boy. The look in his eyes said it all—he was no fan of Evan.

"Thank god you showed up," Evan put a hand on her shoulder. Maya quickly backed away from him in disgust. She promised herself she would be cordial with Evan, but it was kind of hard to be considering the situation she had caught him in. "It may not have looked like it, but I saw my life flash before my eyes. Didn't know this Lucas guy was such a threat."

"You have no idea," Maya groaned and rolled her eyes. She instantly regretted stopping the interaction between the boys. Evan totally deserved to have had his face punched in by Lucas. And she knew Lucas well enough to know that he could've broken Evan's face and a couple of ribs _easily_. But Riley hated violence and so Maya figured that stopping them was what she would've wanted.

* * *

Lucas rushed home to finish packing for his flight back to Texas. When he was done, he paid Sienna a quick visit. He wanted her to know that even though things weren't going so well between him and Riley, he didn't want Sienna to be involved.

"Sienna, I want you to get your job back at the bakery," Lucas said as soon as Sienna opened the door.

"What, why?" a wave of confusion took over Sienna. Did Lucas not know how much this whole thing had affected her? Why would she want to go back to a job she absolutely dreaded?

"Because you shouldn't be involved," Lucas said, walking into the apartment and sitting on the couch. Sienna followed. "And I know you haven't adjusted to the city yet. I felt like the job was helping you with that."

"I don't want to work with Riley or Evan," Sienna said.

"I know it's gonna take some time, but you gotta forgive them," Lucas sighed.

"How do you expect me to get over it if you can't?" Sienna countered.

Lucas laughed dryly, knowing his cousin was right. "Because I'm actually one of the parties involved. You were just a witness. I think it's easier for you to get over it. As for me? I may never get over it."

Sienna pondered it for a minute. She really did like working at the bakery, and she had made good friends with the staff. She also met some kids that go to the school she would be attending in the fall. In truth, the bakery job was helping her adjust. She had less time to think about Lucas's absence and both Riley and Maya were such good mentors to her.

"You can quit once school starts," Lucas offered. "When I get back for good. I just don't want you moping around all day."

"Fine," Sienna breathed. "Do you think Riley will give me my job back after all the things I said to her?"

Lucas looked around the room, trying to find the right words. He sighed, "She's a forgiving person. I'm sure she will."

"Will you ever forgive her?" Sienna asked.

"That, I'm not so sure," Lucas replied truthfully, looking down at his intertwined hands. "Just don't blow up on her, okay? Whatever happened is between me and her. Let us work it out. I don't want you involved."

"Okay," Sienna promised. For Lucas, she would do anything. Even if it meant having to be in the same room as the people she resented.

* * *

Lucas sent a quick text to Farkle and Zay to let them know he was at the airport waiting to board his flight. He opted not to tell Riley, because, well, they weren't on good terms. And he wasn't sure if they were ever going to be again. He still couldn't wrap it around his mind that his precious Riley had the audacity to kiss another boy especially when they talked about how loyalty was one of the most important things to them.

Having another hour before his boarding time, he decided to call his friend Dylan.

"Hey," Lucas greeted, fiddling with the zipper of his backpack that was on his lap.

"Hey, man," the voice on the other line greeted. "How was your trip?"

"My flight leaves in an hour," Lucas said, disregarding his question.

"That bad, huh?" Dylan assumed.

"Eh," Lucas said. "Could've been worse, honestly."

"Well, how was seeing the girlfriend?" Dylan asked. "I'm sure you missed her."

"Long story," Lucas breathed. "But I'm not so sure I have a girlfriend anymore."

"Dude! What happened?!" Dylan snapped.

"I'll explain when I see you," Lucas said, looking around the terminal. The place was crowded and he didn't feel comfortable explaining his situation over the phone.

"Well, whatever it is better not affect your work," Dylan said. "Doc really likes you. You could've taken another couple of days off and he wouldn't have minded. I really think you have a good shot at getting an actual job here."

Lucas sighed. He should be happy with what Dylan told him, as he was getting closer and closer to his dream, but his thoughts were still preoccupied with Riley. And he couldn't wait to be back in Texas to drown himself in his work. He figured that was the only way he'd be able to free himself of her.

"You don't seem very happy about that," Dylan said.

"No, I am, believe me," Lucas replied. "That's great, but I still have to go through school either way."

"He has connections with some people at A&M," Dylan said. "He could get you a scholarship. In fact, I overheard him talking about it to one of his receptionists. He said if you transferred, he'd be able to keep you as an intern until you graduate. Then, who knows what could happen?"

"A scholarship?" Lucas said, his eyes wide. His face dropped when he realized he'd have to transfer schools. "To A&M though. That's so far."

"But it's Texas," Dylan reminded him, "it's home."

* * *

"I am exhausted," Maya said as she plopped down on one of the chairs in the bakery. She and Riley had just finished closing and were about to head out. "I can't wait to get home and sleep!"

"Not yet," Riley replied as she dug into her large tote bag. She grabbed a plastic bag full of clothes and shoes and handed it to the blonde.

"What's this?" Maya inquired, holding up the plastic bag.

"Clothes for you to change into," Riley answered with a shrug. "And your favorite heels."

"What for?" Maya asked as she went through the contents of the bag.

"We're going clubbing," Riley informed her best friend with a smile.

"Riley…" Maya's voice trailed off as she stood up. "You never go clubbing without Lucas. It was your rule."

"Lucas isn't in the picture anymore, now is he?" Riley sassed with a raised brow. Honestly, she thought she was doing a bang up job of keeping herself occupied in order to avoid thinking about him. And she thought clubbing would help even more. "Besides, Farkle and Zay are coming."

"You invited them?" Maya knew nothing good would come from going clubbing. But, as her best friend, it was her duty to be supportive and make sure she didn't do anything stupid.

Riley nodded, "Smackle, too. They should be here soon."

Maya slowly got up and headed to washroom to change. Before leaving, she turned back to Riley and said, "I just hope you know this isn't going to end well."

Riley shrugged, "What more do I have to lose?"

* * *

Farkle, Zay, and Smackle picked up the girls from Topanga's in Farkle's car. Once they arrived to the venue, they waited in the expectedly long line outside.

"While we're here, we should decide on—" Farkle began, before he was cut off by Maya.

Maya raised her hand and said, "I'll do it!"

"You want to be designated driver?" Zay raised a brow. It was very out of character for Maya. Whenever they'd go out for drinks, she was the last person who would volunteer to be assigned the role. Usually, it was Smackle who drove everyone home.

Maya nodded.

"Are you sure, Maya?" Smackle pressed. "I don't mind being designated driver again."

"Oh, no," Maya waved her off. She put a hand on Smackle's shoulder, "You have as many drinks as you want with Farkle, okay?"

"Um, okay," Smackle replied.

"No, seriously, what's up?" Zay asked. He was never one to beat around the bush. He was always so blunt.

Maya gestured her head towards Riley, who wasn't paying attention. She was lost in her thoughts. Maya softened her voice in case Riley wasn't actually distracted, "I'm worried about Riley, okay? We never go clubbing without Huckleberry. I just want to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

"She wouldn't," Zay assured the blonde.

"Well, that girl's been all kinds of surprising lately. She did cheat on her boyfriend," Smackle said to Zay.

Farkle's eyes widened at his girlfriend's words and immediately wrapped his arm around her neck and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Smackle!" he whisper-shouted. "I get that she's made poor choices recently, but she's still our best friend. You know how much she loves him."

"You can't justify cheating," Maya said. "I love Riley but we all know what she did was wrong. Lucas didn't deserve that from her."

Smackle nodded in agreement, Farkle still holding her back.

"But you want them back together," Zay assumed.

"Of course I do!" Maya shoved Zay into the brick wall of the club's building. "They're better together. They're a mess without each other. If Lucas was able to handle alcohol three times his body weight, who knows what Riley would do? She's in a bad place right now and we need to be there for her, no matter how disappointed we are with her."

Smackle moved Farkle's hand from her mouth to add, "Maya's right, you know. I'm sure they'll bounce back from this. Just give it time."

"And what if they don't?" Zay raised a brow.

"Then we're going to have to decide on a custody agreement," Smackle shrugged.

* * *

As soon as the group was inside the club, the found a booth, luckily. They were too sober to dance yet, so they were all just sitting around and drinking. Riley was drinking more than usual, and unlike Lucas, she was pretty lightweight. The ohers stared at her in awe. Farkle and Zay had feelings of déjà vu, as she reminded them of how Lucas was behaving just the other night.

When Riley decided she wanted food, she pulled Maya and dragged her to help her find something to eat. Once Riley was satisfied with the food she bought herself, she followed Maya back to their friends.

"Where's bubbles?" Smackle asked as she squinted her eyes at the blonde.

"Riley? She's right—" Maya turned around but was surprised when she didn't see Riley there. She frowned. "I swear she was just behind me!"

Maya began to panic. Riley had more than the amount of drinks as usual. There was no way an unsupervised Riley was going to behave herself. It was one of the reasons why everyone decided that Lucas should always be there at the club. Riley would be able to drink as much alcohol as she wanted without having to trouble her friends.

* * *

On the way back to her table, Riley had seen a familiar face in the crowd and decided to approach him instead of return to her friends with Maya. With alcohol coursing through her veins, she was invincible. She could do anything. Or so she thought.

"Hey!" Riley greeted and tapped on the boy's shoulder.

The boy quickly turned around, surprised to see Riley there. He greeted, "Oh, Riley! Hey!"

"What are you doing here, Evan?" Riley asked loudly, as the music was deafening to everyone.

"Just with some friends," Evan replied. He had decided not to drink that night, but he could smell Riley reeking of alcohol. "And you?"

"Same," Riley nodded. "I'm with Maya and a couple of others. Do you wanna dance with me?"

"Dance?" Evan raised both brows. She sure was surprising him tonight. She nodded. "Uh, sure."

Riley took his hand and dragged him to a less crowded area of the dance floor. As they settled, a slow song came on.

"Come on, really?!" Riley yelled. "We're at a club!"

No one seemed to share her distress for the sudden change in music. She looked around her and saw couples slow dancing. She threw her head back and groaned. She came to the club to enjoy herself, not be reminded of what she no longer had.

After a minute of arguing with herself, Riley decided to just go along with it. She threw her arms around Evan's neck while he reluctantly placed his hands loosely on her hips. It seemed as if though he was conscious about her personal space now that Lucas was out of the picture, which was ironic.

Riley got into the groove of the song, her emotions overtaking her. She felt so vulnerable, her emotions and the alcohol mixed in her system. Without thinking, she leaned forward and puckered her lips.

At first, Evan didn't know what she was doing, but once he saw her try to reach his face with hers, he knew he had to stop.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Evan asked. He let go of her waist and pried her hands off his neck.

"I was trying to kiss you," Riley said, confused by the curly haired boy's reaction. She thought he liked her. So why was he rejecting her kiss? He was the one who initiated it the first time, when Riley got herself into this mess.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Evan shook his head, holding both of Riley's hands.

"Why not? You didn't have a problem kissing me when I had a boyfriend!" Riley yelled, yanking her hands away from Evan.

"You're drunk, Riley," Evan said sternly. He gripped her shoulders. "You're vulnerable. I'm not going to take advantage of that and make you do something you'll regret later."

"Ugh!" Riley grabbed her head in frustration. She didn't understand his logic. "I was vulnerable that night. You took advantage of me then. And you know what? I regret kissing you!"

Evan rolled his eyes. He figured he would get this response from the brunette. After all, she was intoxicated. Before he could get another word in, Riley stormed off as the slow song drew to an end. Evan, unaffected by what just happened, looked around to search for his friends.

* * *

The group finally spotted Riley. Unsurprisingly, she was sitting back at the bar, taking shot after shot. They decided that it would be best to inform Lucas of current events. Even though they were going through a rough patch, it was obvious that Lucas wanted to know what was going on with the usually perky brunette. So Maya tried calling him, but after a couple of attempts, she could only conclude that he was also ignoring her as well as Riley.

"Well," Maya scoffed. "If he was scared of me before, he's going to be terrified of me when I finally get to talk to him!"

"Maya, think about it," Smackle said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "He's only ignoring you because he knows you're on Riley's side."

"Usually I am," Maya agreed, "but not this time. What Riley did was wrong, I know that. But I also know Riley. We all know her. It's not like her to be acting out."

"Alright, let me try calling him," Zay said, putting his phone up to his ear. "I probably have a better chance of—Oh, hey, buddy!"

Farkle, Smackle, and Maya stepped closer to Zay and tried to hear the conversation.

"Okay, hold on!" Zay said. He removed the phone from his ear and covered the phone with his other hand. "He said he can't hear me over the music. Let's go to the lobby."

"Right now? We are _not_ leaving Riley at the bar," Maya refused. She looked over to the bar to make sure Riley was still sitting there. She was. She looked defeated, her arm sprawled across the counter and her face resting on her arm.

"Go," Smackle waved. "You guys need to talk to Lucas. I'll watch her."

"You sure you can handle that crazy chick?" Farkle asked, rubbing his girlfriend's upper arm.

Smackle nodded, "Of course, my beloved. With the amount she drank tonight, I can only conclude that she's going to crash fairly soon."

"To the lobby!" Maya pointed into the direction of the exit.

The friends were relieved when they got to the lobby, the music was getting a tad bit loud. They could still, however, feel the bass in their chests.

"Put it on speaker," Farkle nudged Zay. Zay did as he was told.

"Zay, you still there?" Lucas said on the other line. With the awfully long pause, he thought that Zay forgot he was on the phone.

"Still here," Zay confirmed. "And so are Farkle and Maya."

"Maya?" Lucas huffed. "I have nothing to say to her."

Maya, outraged, took the phone from Zay and held it up to her mouth. "Listen here, Ranger Rick! I am on _your_ side for once, okay? Riley messed up, we all know that. I swear to god, Huckleberry, keep it up and—"

"Is this what this phone call is going to be about? I don't want to talk about that cheater," Lucas replied. Frustrated, Maya ran her free hand through her hair, wanting so desperately to rip it off her scalp. She couldn't believe Lucas was being so stubborn. But then again, he had every right to be and she couldn't argue with that.

Maya handed the phone back to Zay. She walked away to a nearby fountain to take a drink.

"You know you still care about her," Farkle stated.

"She's dead to me," Lucas deadpanned.

"Be careful what you wish for," Zay said. "With the amount of alcohol that girl drank tonight, it's very likely she could have alcohol poisoning."

"Riley's clubbing," Lucas said, "without me?"

"Hey, I thought you said you didn't care?" Farkle reminded him.

"I don't," Lucas scoffed. Though deep down he knew he was only lying to himself. "Look, I need to be up at five a.m. tomorrow, can I go to sleep now?"

"Are you sure you don't care?" Zay said. "Because we just wanted to let you know how she was doing, and it's not well."

Lucas sighed, "I don't understand why you guys are telling me this. I'm two thousand miles away. You guys are there. You deal with it."

Before Farkle and Zay could protest, Lucas ended the call.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Quick disclaimer, I know nothing about A &M and veterinary clinics and stuff like that. But I'm sure Lucas does. **

* * *

Chapter Eight

Farkle and Zay tried to contact Lucas multiple times after he hung up on them, but to no avail. Lucas had made it pretty clear that he wanted nothing to do with the unusually drunk brunette. The boys, however, didn't buy it. They knew the couple had been through too much to just throw everything away. Cheating could never, _ever_ be justified, but because it was Riley and Lucas, their friends knew they'd work something out.

Maya was now angry at Lucas for refusing to talk to her. She hadn't done anything wrong, she had told him that she wasn't supportive of what Riley did, yet Lucas decided to ignore the blonde. With Lucas being hard to reach and Riley acting out, there was no telling how soon the two would be able to resolve their issues. But Maya left it alone, she was there to enjoy a night out with her friends.

Maya ditched Farkle and Zay in the lobby, as they were still trying to get a hold of Lucas. They knew he wouldn't answer, but they still tried anyway to get their point across that Riley was not okay. The blonde made her way to the bar and sat with Smackle and Riley. Riley was still in the same position they had left her in moments ago.

"Come on, we're going dancing," Maya grabbed Riley's limp arm. The brunette didn't respond.

"She's sleeping," Smackle said, detaching Maya's hand from Riley's arm. "I take it Lucas didn't take the news too well?"

"He didn't even care," Maya muttered. "He didn't even want to talk to me. I told him I was on his side! He wouldn't let us explain."

"He's so stubborn," Smackle shook her head. She put a hand over Maya's. "But he has every right to be. He's still upset at Riley. Who knows how long it will be until he's willing to hear her out. You're her best friend, if he's cutting ties with her he's going to cut ties with you too."

"I'm just trying to help," Maya sighed in distress. All she wanted was her best friend to be happy. And the type of happiness she couldn't give her could only be given to her by Lucas. "I honestly thought Riley would be able to handle a few more drinks. Guess we're going home. I don't care what he says, Lucas is going to thank me for this later for not leaving Riley alone to die of alcohol posoining."

"You'd do it even if it wasn't for Lucas," Smackle pointed out.

"I know," Maya said. "But it's nice to be appreciated. I swear I take care of Riley better than he does."

"You two have entirely different relationships with each other," Smackle said. "You two take care of her in different ways, have different kinds of feelings for her."

"Doesn't matter," Maya waved her off. She wasn't in the mood for this conversation. "Let's take her home."

The boys met up with the girls again and Zay carried Riley back to the car. It was a quiet car ride home. They were starting to lose hope for the couple.

Zay carefully put Riley on her bed once the group arrived at the Matthews apartment, to which she reacted by fluttering her eyes open. Her friends surrounded her, releasing sighs of relief. During the ride back, they were almost certain that the brunette had stopped breathing. It was an over exaggeration, but they were all seriously worried about her.

At first, Riley looked around in confusion, noting that the last thing she remembered was sitting at the bar when Smackle came to join her. When she realized she was home and that her friends had taken care of her, she burst into tears.

"Oh my god, don't cry, Sugar!" Zay jumped. He thought something had happened to her when he carried her to her room. "Did I hurt you?"

Riley shook her head as she continued to sob. She sat up in her bed. Maya and Smackle sat cross-legged on either side of the brunette, while Farkle and Zay sat at the food of the bed.

"I can't thank you guys enough for being there for me," she said in between sobs. She sniffled as the girls wrapped their arms around her. "I don't usually act like that."

"We know," Farkle offered a small smile.

"I could've done something stupid," Riley said. It was why she didn't like drinking too much. Sober Riley had very high self-control and always contemplated all consequences of situations before she put herself in them. When alcohol was in her system, who knew what she was capable of?

"You drinking that much _was_ stupid," Zay pointed out. "Something bad could've happened to you."

Riley cried once again, "I only did it because of Lucas."

"Well, duh," Smackle replied. She shrugged. "You never go clubbing without him. We kinda figured."

"I regret it," Riley wiped the tears from her eyes. She sniffled. "I regret tonight. All I want is Lucas. I shouldn't have gone clubbing. I shouldn't have drunk. It's not what he would've wanted. I should be fighting for our relationship. I-I.. miss him so much…" She sobbed once again.

The four exchanged looks, and luckily Riley was oblivious to this since she was preoccupied in trying to control her breathing. No one wanted to tell her about the phone call they had with Lucas earlier. It would only hurt Riley more. It would discourage her from trying to fix things with him. It would make her lose hope. And Riley didn't like losing hope.

"You need some sleep, honey," Maya suggested, carefully laying the brunette down on her bed. "It's been a long night."

* * *

Sienna hesitantly opened the doors to Topanga's. As much as she hated to admit it, Lucas was right. Sienna enjoyed working at the bakery, and she shouldn't let this small mishap ruin her happiness. She still wasn't sure if she could face neither Riley or Evan, so she was glad when she spotted the blonde at the counter with a clipboard. She took a deep breath and approached her.

"Um, hi," Sienna said meekly.

Maya looked up from the clipboard and was pleasantly surprised to see Sienna in front of her. She raised both eyebrows then smiled softly, "Sienna, what are you doing here?"

"Uh, I kinda want my job back?" Sienna replied hesitantly. She avoided the blonde's gaze. "If that's cool…"

"Can we talk about something first?" Maya said. Sienna had a feeling it had something to do with her cousin and a certain brunette. "About Riley and Lucas?" She was right.

Sienna closed her eyes and sighed.

"I just need to tell you something important," Maya said.

"I don't want to hear it," Sienna snapped. She suddenly didn't feel so nervous anymore about getting her job back. "I'm already here begging for my job back whose owner broke my cousin's heart. I really don't want to deal with this right now."

Maya groaned and rolled her eyes, "Boy, you and Lucas really are alike. We called him last night and he wouldn't listen either."

"Well we have every right to refuse conversation," Sienna said, folding her arms over her chest.

"This is important though," Maya said. "If you want your job back we gotta talk about this. You're gonna be working with Riley and Evan. We need to get your feelings out in the open. We need to know if you can do your job without your personal issues getting in the way."

"Lucas told me to get my job back," Sienna admitted.

"Now why would he do that?" Maya asked. "Does he want you to get revenge on Riley or something?"

Sienna took a seat at a vacant table. Maya followed and sat across from her.

"It's not like that at all," Sienna said as she played with her hands. "I really liked this job. I was starting to like New York. You guys are the only people I know in the city right now and you've all helped me adjust with Lucas gone. He was proud of the progress I was making. He just wants me to be comfortable."

"So nothing to do with Riley?" Maya pressed.

"No, all me," Sienna confirmed.

"Well, in order for you to be comfortable, you gotta talk about it," Maya said. She got up and told Sienna to stay put before she disappeared to the back. She returned moments later and gestured for Sienna to go see Riley.

"So I hear you want your job back?" Riley said as she scribbled in the balance book. She heard footsteps approach her and she didn't need to look up to realize who it was.

"I do," Sienna confirmed, standing in front of the desk Riley was sitting at. She sighed when Riley didn't look up. She sat down in front of her.

"Now why in the world would you want your job back?" Riley's eyes shot up to meet Sienna's green ones. Riley had fairly quickly gotten over her hangover from her binge last night and was undoubtedly in the right state of mind to be having this confrontation with Sienna.

"This has nothing to do with Lucas," she quickly said. She knew what Riley was thinking. If Maya had thought that Sienna only wanted to sabotage her, then of course Riley was going to assume the same thing.

"Okay…" Riley's voice trailed off.

Sienna explained her situation to Riley, and in the process, they got to the topic of Sienna having to see Riley and Evan often again. The two worked things out, as they both decided that Sienna had nothing to do with it, and that if the situation happened without Sienna as a witness, the entire scenario still would've played out similarly. It was Riley and Lucas's problem, not Sienna's. Riley was willing to put it behind them, as long as Sienna was willing to do the same.

So Sienna and Riley reconciled. Riley gave Sienna her job back with one condition—Sienna had to make things right with Evan, too. Sienna wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but it was Riley's only condition and it wasn't such a hard task to complete. The girls were very content that they had resolved their personal issues, and Riley saw this as an opportunity to bring up her need to get Lucas back.

"Okay, so we're friends again, correct?" Riley asked. When Sienna nodded with a soft smile, Riley chose her next words carefully. "You know how much I love your cousin, and we all know I made a huge ass mistake. He won't even answer Farkle or Zay's calls anymore. Do you think you can help me make things right with him?"

Sienna sighed. She had expected that question from her. She just didn't think it would take her so long to bring it up. In truth, she did want them to get back together, but it was hard for her to picture it considering the circumstances they were in.

So she lied, "I don't think you're such a great match for Lucas."

"What, why?" Riley was shocked by her response. Just weeks ago, Sienna gushed at how 'made for each other' the couple seemed to be.

"Well, for one, you cheated," Sienna pointed out.

"Fair," Riley mumbled. "I thought we were friends again."

"We are," Sienna nodded. "But it doesn't change my opinion on the situation. Sorry."

* * *

Ever since Lucas got back to Texas, he had been extremely busy, more than usual. And Dylan was right. Lucas was officially offered a scholarship to A&M days after his return. Although he knew about it beforehand, he still couldn't help but be genuinely shocked by the offer. He didn't give them an answer right away, he needed some time to think about it.

When Lucas finally had time to himself, he decided to check in with Sienna. With his phone in his hand, he sat down on the couch in Pappy Joe's living room and propped his feet up on the coffee table. He was silently thankful that Pappy Joe wasn't home because even though Lucas was twenty years old, he knew his grandfather would still scold him for resting his feet on the table.

Lucas pressed Sienna's number on his screen and held the phone to his ear with his shoulder. When she heard her pick up, he greeted, "Hey, sorry we haven't talked since the day I flew back here. Did you get your job at the bakery back?"

"Hey, Luke," Sienna replied on the other line. "That's okay, I was busy anyway. And yes, I did get my job back! Riley and I talked about our personal issues so I guess you could say we're on good terms. Not _great_ terms, but it's a start. I'm still bitter… but not as much as before."

"That's good to hear," Lucas was genuinely glad that things were starting to get back to normal for his cousin. All he wanted for her was to be comfortable in New York. But truthfully, he didn't want to listen to her go on about her and Riley's mending friendship, so he brought up the reason why he called. "Listen… I wasn't sure if it was actually going to happen so I didn't tell anyone but I got offered a scholarship to A&M."

"Really? That's great!" Sienna replied with artificial enthusiasm. She was proud of her cousin for getting the offer, but she also didn't think too much about it. She knew for sure he wasn't going to take the offer. She knew he wasn't going to leave behind his life in New York to go back to Texas. She knew he wasn't going to leave Riley for good. So she let him talk about how he got the offer and the details behind it.

* * *

For the next couple days after Sienna had gotten her job back, she and Riley slowly got back into whatever budding friendship they had beforehand. Riley also frequently reminded Sienna about the deal they made. Sienna did build up the courage to talk to Evan, but their shifts never seemed to align, her schedule was more similar to Riley's.

Finally, Sienna had a shift with Evan a week later. He didn't know she was back. She knew she'd have to talk about it with him either way. Her shift started later than his, so when she got there he was already there. She took a deep breath. She approached him.

"Um, hi," Sienna said, trying to catch Evan's attention. Evan immediately recognized the voice. How could he forget a voice that said such rude things about him? When Sienna realized he was ignoring her, she groaned. She tried again. "Evan!" Still no reply. He tried to preoccupy himself by rearranging some of the display cases.

"You're making it seriously hard to apologize to you," Sienna snorted. That seemed to catch his attention. Evan looked up at her.

"You're here to apologize?" Evan asked.

Sienna nodded, "Riley gave me my job back and I felt that it was only fair that I apologize to you. You know, so things don't get awkward."

"But why should I accept your apology?" Evan challenged, propping his elbow onto the counter then rested his chin on his hand.

"Because it's none of my business," Sienna replied. She sighed. "I'm sorry for what I said, Evan. I was angry and I felt the need to butt myself into the situation. I really shouldn't have done that. Whatever happened between you and Riley is your issue, and I get that now."

It was Evan's turn to sigh. "It's okay. I don't blame you. You were just looking out for your cousin. I get it. And I'll admit I was being kinda selfish."

"You were," Sienna agreed. She was somewhat surprised at how easy it was to reconcile things with Evan, the way she fixed things with Riley. Maybe verbal confrontation with level-headed temper was a good thing. She quickly added, "No offense."

Evan chuckled and waved her off, "You know, your cousin came to talk to me when he was in town."

"Oh, right," Sienna said. "He told me what he was going to do. I didn't stop him. I should've, but I didn't."

"Maya intervened before anyone got hurt," Evan explained. "I wish he punched me, hit me—something. I deserved it. But at the same time, I glad he didn't… He's kinda scary."

"He's only scary when he's angry," Sienna shrugged casually.

Sienna still wasn't over what happened between Riley and Evan, and the way it affected Lucas, but she was glad her life was getting better. She was glad she was starting to forgive. If only Lucas would do the same…

* * *

When Lucas didn't accept the scholarship to A&M right away, they added extra perks to the scholarship in hopes he would seriously consider it then. When he requested some more time to think about it, he was given a strict deadline. He was in no state of mind to be making such big decisions, but he needed to decide.

If you asked him a year ago if he wanted to go to A&M, he would've said no. Up until he moved and got accustomed to New York, his dream school was A&M. Since he was little, he had dreamt about attending that school someday, thanks to Pappy Joe being an alumni and sharing stories about his time there. But when Lucas adjusted to the New York lifestyle, he decided right then and there that he would have his college education there. Contrary to popular belief, _no_ , Lucas didn't choose to stay in the city just because of Riley. He really grew to love the city and was fascinated by how much it contrasted his hometown. Riley also being in the city was just a bonus.

Lucas was torn. His younger self would've been thrilled to have been given this opportunity. But now it's just a burden. He didn't care about the school. Mostly what he cared about was his internship. The clinic wanted to keep him as an intern until he finished his undergraduate studies. Lucas had learned a lot ever since he started the internship, and he was never more certain that veterinary medicine was what he wanted to get into. A longer internship would give him more opportunity, connect him to other doctors, and it would look great on his resume.

He looked at all the pros and cons of taking the offer. And even then, he still couldn't decide. His deadline was coming up. He didn't know what to do. So, he turned to his Pappy Joe.

When he returned to Pappy Joe's home one night after a shift at the clinic, Lucas found his grandfather sitting on a rocking chair on the front porch. It was Pappy Joe's favorite place to be at night as he breathed in the crisp Texas air.

"I don't know if I should take it," Lucas said. He didn't have to explain further; Pappy Joe knew exactly what his grandson was talking about. Lucas took a seat in the vacant rocking chair beside Pappy Joe's. It was his grandmother's before she passed.

"Well, you don't have much time left," Pappy Joe said.

"I know, that's why I came to you," Lucas sighed. He looked up in the sky and stared at the stars. He then shifted his gaze to his grandfather. "What should I do?"

"I don't think I should be making your life decisions for you, son," Pappy Joe said, pushing himself on the chair.

"Okay," Lucas said flatly. "Help me decide then."

"Well, as far as I can remember, you've always wanted to go to A&M. It was your dream school," Pappy Joe mused. "Why didn't you apply in senior year?"

Lucas shrugged, "Things change. Priorities change."

"You still want to be a veterinarian?"

"Of course," Lucas laughed. "That much hasn't changed. I love the city, though. I can't imagine leaving it to come back and live here. Texas doesn't feel that much like home to me anymore. But the internship… wow, I've never learned so much! The clinic is amazing. I love it there. For my internship to be extended is an honor and extremely rare there according to Dylan."

"If you think the clinic has given you opportunity, then you have no idea what A&M is like," Pappy Joe said. "It'll be beneficial for you too. Trust me."

"But what if—"

"You trust me, boy?"

"Of course, I do, Pappy Joe, but—"

"I just want what's best for you."

* * *

Sienna received a text from Lucas in all caps letting her know that he made his decision about A&M. He accepted the offer. Sienna felt her heart drop to her stomach when she read the text. Never in a million years did she think Lucas was going to go back to his life in Texas. She didn't want him there. Part of the reason why she agreed with her parents on moving to New York was because her favorite cousin Lucas lived there, and it would be like old times. Lucas knew this and had been thrilled when he heard the news that Sienna and her family were moving. And now Sienna felt betrayed that Lucas was abandoning her.

She needed to do something about it. She needed to get him to change his mind, to come back to New York. Texas wasn't his home anymore, New York was. And to Sienna, New York was home now, too. Sienna came up with every plan she could think of, but none of them compared to the first one—a plan she knew that would work but she didn't want to put into action. But she was desperate, so she needed to.

Sienna had a shift with Riley that day she got the text. So when Sienna was on break and Riley was in the office, she decided to pay the brunette a visit.

"Look, I know I said you're not a good match for my cousin," Sienna said as soon as she sat down in front of Riley. "But I only said that because I knew it would make you give up on him. Truth is, you're _perfect_ for him. I promised Lucas I wouldn't get involved, but I have a pretty good reason to."

"Sienna, what's going on?" Riley asked, closing her laptop to shift her full attention on the girl sitting in front of her.

"Riley, he got a scholarship to A&M," Sienna said softly. The sadness was evident in her eyes. "And he's going to take it."

"A&M, the one in Texas?" Riley gulped.

* * *

 **So as of now, there are two chapters left. I'm currently working on my next Rucas multi-fic which should be up shortly after this fic is finished. I'm very excited about it! And also I'm writing a possibly lengthy Rucas oneshot based off Goodbye. The show may be over (for now) but I will keep writing Rucas fanfic until I'm out of ideas, honestly. So let me know if you guys are interested in the multi-fic and/or the oneshot! Thanks again for all your support!**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Buckle up, we're going for a bumpy ride. Very dialogue heavy.**

* * *

Chapter Nine

"Well, they don't call it _Texas_ A &M for nothing," Sienna remarked. Riley shot her a look. Sienna squeezed her head with her hands. "Sorry! I use sarcasm when I'm worried or stressed!"

"There's no way he's taking that scholarship," Riley deadpanned. "He stopped talking about that school when he turned fourteen. His heart is set on New York."

"I don't know what's gotten into him," Sienna shook her head. She leaned over the desk and grabbed Riley's shoulders, softly shaking her. "You gotta help me."

"Help you with what?" Riley scoffed, carefully pushing Sienna off of her. "Lucas made his decision."

"Doesn't matter," Sienna waved her off, returning to her seat. "Lucas doesn't want to be back in Texas. The only reason why he's there this summer is because of the internship, that's it. I'm sure you of all people would know that. Texas isn't his home anymore, Riley. It's here, with you."

"With me? Ha!" Riley snorted. "You do know your cousin and I aren't exactly on speaking terms."

"I know," Sienna nodded. "But I honestly thought you would've done something about it by now."

"Why not?" Riley asked. "You made it perfectly clear that I'm not good enough for him."

"But Riley!" Sienna whined. "I didn't really mean it! I knew it was gonna make you give up on him, that's the only reason why I said it."

"Well, it worked, Sienna," Riley huffed. "I've accepted that Lucas and I are never going to get back to the way they were. And I still hate myself for it."

"Do you still love him?" Sienna asked with hopeful eyes. She didn't even need to ask; she knew what the answer was. But, it was still nice to get a confirmation from the brunette herself.

"Of course I do; what kind of question is that?" Riley scrunched her face.

"Then help me out!" Sienna pleaded. "I don't think I can handle living New York if he's not here. Please do me a favor, please, please, _please_!"

"I already did you a favor by giving you back your job, Sienna," Riley replied. "And I thought you weren't getting involved?"

"This is a completely different situation, Riley," Sienna said. "It's not necessarily between you two but I mean, kill two birds with one stone, right?"

Riley rolled her eyes.

"You know you still care about him," Sienna said. "You know you'd get back with him if you had the chance."

"I'm never going to get that chance, Sienna," Riley whispered.

"Yes, you will!" Sienna argued. "If you help me to get him to stay."

"Sienna…" Riley's voice trailed off.

"He's not even coming back to here to get his things," Sienna sighed sadly. "His parents are going to send his things out to him."

"See, he doesn't even want to come back to New York to get his stuff," Riley replied. "Do you really think _I_ can get him to change his mind? Of all people, me? After what I did?"

"I've been told you're very persuasive," Sienna pointed out. "And that you don't give up easily on those you love. Maybe this can be your way of resolving things with him. Come on, Riley, don't even do this for me, or yourself. Do this for him. You know he doesn't want to be there. I honestly think Pappy Joe forced him into it, he's always wanted one of his grandkids to follow his legacy into A&M."

The two sat in silence for a moment. Riley needed a minute to think. This would be the perfect opportunity to lay her feelings out for him and finally talk about the situation that Lucas had tried so hard to avoid. She took a deep breath before caving in. She knew she might regret it, but she had nothing else to lose. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Yay!" Sienna squealed.

* * *

"Alright, so why are we here, Riley?" Zay asked. Riley had asked her friends to have an emergency meeting at the bakery. It was like Riley and Maya's ring power, but for everyone in the group. If someone called an emergency meeting, they all came. It was a system they established after high school graduation. They knew that once college rolled around they'd be spending a lot less time together, so Riley came up with this system so that if anyone wanted or needed to talk about anything, they'd be there for them. It also showed that even though they're not all in the same college and they're all starting to head in different directions, they were always going to be there for each other no matter what.

"It's about Lucas," Riley said with furrowed brows. She wasn't sure how they were going to react. But they needed to know.

"Are you guys back together?" Smackle squealed, gripping Farkle's arm excitedly.

Riley shook her head somberly, "No."

"Then what is it?" Farkle asked.

"He got offered a scholarship to A&M and he's taking it," Riley said softly. She wanted to get straight to the point and not dance around the subject. "He's staying in Texas. He's not even coming back to get his things. He's getting them sent out."

"That little diva," Zay muttered.

"Not the point!" Riley snapped. "Lucas is leaving, guys!"

"Well, technically, he already left," Smackle pointed out.

"Smackle, now is not the time to be a smartass!" Zay said.

"Shut up Zay!" Farkle retorted, pulling Smackle closer to him.

"Guys!" Riley yelled. "Stop arguing."

Maya rolled her eyes at her friends' antics. Sometimes she wasn't sure why she was friends with any of them, especially when she thought she was the only sane one in the group. She said, "So Huckleberry's gone, shouldn't we celebrate?"

"Maya," Riley said sternly.

"Kidding," Maya said with a sheepish smile. "So you're doing something about this, aren't you? I thought you gave up on him."

"You know me so well, Peaches," Riley gushed, squeezing Maya's cheeks. "But Sienna talked me into it. And I mean, my feelings for him are stronger than ever so why shouldn't I fight for him? He needs to know how strongly I feel about him."

"You think that's going to make him change his mind about A&M, his dream school since he was a little boy?" Zay asked.

"You know he doesn't really care about A&M as much as he used to," Riley pointed out. "If he really wanted to go, he would've applied in senior year. But he didn't." Zay was about to say something when Riley continued, "And don't say that he only chose a college here because of me. Even if I wasn't in the equation, he still would've chosen to stay here. You know that."

"That sounds about right," Zay shrugged. "Well done, Riley."

"Don't patronize me yet, Zay," Riley shook her head, amused. "I have no idea if it's going to work."

"So what's the plan?" Farkle asked.

"I'm going to fly out with Sienna to Texas as soon as possible," Riley replied. She turned to Farkle. "And I need your help with that. Do you think you can get me on a flight?"

"Of course I can," Farkle responded. He whipped out his phone and began tapping away. "I'll text you your flight details."

"Thanks, Farkle," Riley said. She turned to Zay. "And I need you not to contact Lucas and ask about the scholarship and whatnot. I promise I'll keep you guys updated if anything happens."

"Oh, come on, Riley!" Zay threw his arms in the air. "What makes you think that I'm going to call Lucas and talk to him about it?"

Before Riley could answer, Maya spoke up quite loudly, "Because you have a big mouth!"

Zay put a hand to his chest and gasped. He nodded, "Haha, yes I do."

The others rolled their eyes.

"So you're all supporting my plan?" Riley asked, seeking approval.

"Of course, Riley," Smackle nodded.

Maya rested her head on Riley's shoulder, "You know we'll always support you."

"Yeah," Farkle and Zay replied.

"Good," Riley smiled. The last thing she needed was to have them talk her out of it, especially with how hard Sienna tried to convince her to do something about it.

"Oh, and Maya?" Riley rested her head on top of the blonde's.

"Yeah, Riles?"

"I'm gonna need you to not kill Evan while I'm gone, okay?" Riley asked.

"I make no promises," Maya snorted.

* * *

Before Riley could forgive herself for what she did, she needed to forgive someone else first. On her day off, she went to the bakery to talk to Evan. She couldn't stand him anymore after what happened, but she was still partially to blame. And she also wanted to apologize for the mixed messages she sent him that night.

"Um, hey, Evan," Riley said when she approached the boy at the counter.

"Hey, Riley," Evan forced a smile. "What are you doing here? I thought we had an agreement."

Riley swallowed, "Yeah, we do. I just… I just wanted to talk to you about something. Are you busy right now?"

Evan looked around the bakery. They had just opened, so they weren't too busy. They usually got busy around noon. Evan shrugged, "No, I can talk."

"Okay, good," Riley replied. "Uh, let's talk outside."

Riley led Evan outside, and sat at one of the vacant tables. Riley hadn't exactly planned this little meeting, so she wasn't too sure where to start.

"Everything okay?" Evan asked when he noticed the worried look on Riley's face. She wasn't worried. She was just… confused.

"Um, yeah," Riley confirmed. "I just don't know where to start."

"This is about Lucas, isn't it?" Evan assumed.

"Isn't it always?" Riley laughed dryly. "I wanted to apologize to you for blaming you for everything. It wasn't fair to you when I kissed back. I'm sorry for leading you on."

Evan bobbed his head and watched as he played with his hands on the table, "I figured. You don't have to apologize for not having feelings for me. But I get it. You were vulnerable and I honestly shouldn't have taken advantage of that. It's just that… you're so pretty and honestly, I had just gotten over a breakup. I'm not even entirely sure at this point that I had any genuine feelings for you."

"Well, that makes sense," Riley shrugged.

"Yeah," Evan looked up at her. "I'm sorry for kissing you."

Riley lifted the corners of her mouth to form a soft smile, "I forgive you, Evan."

"Really?" Evan stared at her with confused eyes. Riley nodded. "I caused you so much shit with your boyfriend, though."

"I know, but you weren't wholly to blame," Riley explained. "I was, too. And I need to forgive myself for that. I needed to forgive you first in order to do that."

"You're such a nice person," Evan commented.

"I wish I could say I was, but I'm not," Riley shook her head. "I make mistakes, too. And I gotta fix those mistakes."

"I honestly do hope you and Lucas work things out," Evan said and offered a warm smile. "You seem so smitten with him."

"Thanks," Riley smiled. "I love him."

"Again, I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble," Evan looked back down at his hands.

Riley reached for his hand, offering a friendly gesture. She assured him, "It's okay. Shit happens."

"So are we good?" Evan asked.

Riley nodded, "We're good."

"So now that we're friends I hope it's appropriate for me to say this," Evan said. "Lucas scares the shit out of me."

"What, really?" Riley raised a brow. "You two met?"

Evan nodded, "He confronted me before his flight. Almost punched me square in the jaw."

Riley's eyes grew wide. She never liked Lucas's violent nature, but it always surprised her when that side of him surfaced.

"Oh my god, I apologize on his behalf," Riley gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

Evan chuckled, "It was my fault for provoking him by being an arrogant jackass."

* * *

Riley and Sienna's flight was very early the next day. Sienna took the window seat on the plane because Riley swore that sight of how far off the ground they were would only add to her sickness. She already felt sick to her stomach because of the thought of facing Lucas again. She wasn't quite sure if she could do it.

As soon as they settled into their hotel room in a little outside of downtown Austin a couple of miles away from Pappy Joe's ranch, Riley couldn't help but pace. She was starting to worry even more. She barely got any sleep on the flight because her thoughts were consuming her, and she thought she would be able to drown them out when they landed, but nope. Her anxiety was coming at her at full force.

Sienna watched as the nervous brunette walked around the room, muttering to herself. She couldn't quite make out what Riley was saying. Sienna could only assume that she was giving herself encouraging words.

"Sienna, I don't think I can do this," Riley said, finally sitting down on one of the two beds in the room. Sienna moved to sit beside her.

"Sure you can!" Sienna retorted. "This is Lucas we're talking about."

"Why did you think I could do this?" Riley sighed.

"Because you're Riley," Sienna replied. "And I know that my cousin loves you very much. No matter what he says. You guys just hit a rough road, but honestly if it's any two people who could overcome all of this, I know it's you two. Your love is stronger than anything I've ever seen."

"All of that doesn't matter though," Riley answered. "What if he doesn't hear me out?"

"Believe me, he will," Sienna assured her. "You gotta believe in yourself. Believe in him."

"Thanks, Sienna," Riley offered a smile, then hugged her.

After they pulled away from the hug, Sienna checked her phone for the time. Sienna knew it was Lucas's day off, so it was the perfect time to send Riley to talk to him. "It's almost time, Riley. Your ride's going to be here soon."

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Riley took a deep breath.

"You're going to thank me later," Sienna grinned. "Good luck, my future cousin-in-law!"

* * *

Riley took an Uber to Pappy Joe's house. On the way there, she mentally gave herself a pep talk. She wasn't sure how this was all going to turn out. One part of her was so sure that it would work, that he'd forgive her after hearing the elaborate speech she had planned out. But on the other hand, she knew the chances of him forgiving her were very slim.

Once she arrived at her destination, she took in her surroundings. She remembered the times she had visited with Lucas. Nothing much had changed since she was last there, but then again, she was there just last year. She walked carefully up to the front porch. Her heart began to race. She stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. She balled her hand into a fist and knocked on the door.

Lucas was in the living room when there was a knock on the door. He figured it was one of his Pappy Joe's friends, so he got up to answer it. He frowned when he realized it was a certain brunette. He slammed the door. He was about to return to his spot on the couch when the knock on the door resumed, but a lot louder and more aggressive. Lucas groaned and turned back to the front door. What the hell did she want?

He opened the door again and rubbed his temple. He knew he couldn't ignore her. And even if he did, she'd probably spend the rest of the day banging on the door anyway. "What are you doing here, Riley?"

"I wanted to talk to you, Lucas," Riley said, playing with her thumbs.

"You travelled two thousand miles just to talk?" he raised a brow.

"Well, it's not like you're answering my calls or texts," Riley shrugged nervously.

"And what makes you think I'm going to let you talk now?" Lucas challenged. Riley saw the hurt in his eyes. Yup, he totally wasn't over it.

"Because there's an elephant in the room and we need to discuss it, figure things out," Riley replied. She lightly pushed past him and entered the house, much to Lucas's dismay. She headed straight for the couch and plopped down on it. Lucas didn't really want to talk to her, but she was already inside and he knew it would be a pain to try to force her to leave. So he proceeded to sit on the opposite side of the couch from where she was. He didn't really want to be close to her. "And I'm already here so it's kind of hard for you to deny me this right."

"Right?" Lucas scoffed, he crossed his arms over his chest. "More like a privilege. And I can deny you if I wanted to."

"But you're not going to," Riley said calmly, "because I know you."

Lucas rolled his eyes and looked in the opposite direction of her. He was very uninterested in all of this, though deep down his heart was racing and he wasn't exactly sure why.

"You never let me explain myself the last time I saw you," Riley said when he didn't respond.

"Okay, fine, say what you need to say," Lucas looked at the brunette. "But I'm warning you now that whatever you say probably won't change things."

Riley took a deep breath. She nodded, understanding how low her chances were.

"First and foremost, I'm sorry," Riley began, turning her body to face him. "I'm sorry I kissed Evan. The kiss meant absolutely nothing to me, but I get that what I did was still wrong. I take full responsibility for my actions but I know taking the blame isn't going to magically solve things. And if you want an excuse as to why I did what I did, the only reasonable explanation I came up with was that I was vulnerable at the time and I needed comfort. I needed you. But when I realized you were in a different state, I somehow found the comfort from Evan. The entire time he was there with me, though, I thought of you."

Lucas scrunched his face in disgust every time she brought up Evan's name.

"Now I don't expect you to forgive me right away—or ever," Riley continued. "But know this. I broke your trust and I'm sorry I did but I will spend the rest of my life trying to prove to you that you _can_ trust me and that nothing like that is _ever_ going to happen again. You know why? Because I love you, Lucas. I've loved you since the day I fell into your lap. We've built up a strong relationship over the years, and I know that we can overcome anything—even this. But it has to be a mutual decision. I want to overcome this. Do you?"

"No," Lucas said flatly.

"I don't want to throw away all of this," Riley said, referring to their relationship. She frowned. "I know we can fix things."

"I don't think so, Riley," Lucas responded, shaking his head. "I don't think this changes anything. You still cheated."

"I know, and if I could take it back, I would!" Riley shouted. She was never one to shout. "I felt guilty then and I still feel guilty now. I'm going to have to live with the guilt forever. But you know what? I'm okay with that as long as you forgive me and tell me that things are going to work out, that things are going to be okay between us. You are _so_ important to me, Lucas. I hope you know that."

Lucas sat there, processing Riley's words. He wasn't sure what to think. He wanted to tell her to leave, but at the same time, he wanted to hear whatever else she had to say. So when Lucas didn't tell Riley to leave, she decided to take the conversation elsewhere. "Um, so I heard about A&M."

"Who told you?" Lucas whipped his head to her direction.

"Sienna," Riley said. He should've known. Sometimes Sienna just couldn't keep her mouth shut. And if Sienna was involved in this, he was certain that she was nearby. Sienna had a reputation of scheming.

"Is Sienna with you?" he asked.

"At the hotel," Riley confirmed.

"Is that the only reason why you're here?" Lucas asked. "Because Sienna wanted you to make me go back to New York? I knew she was upset about it when I told her."

"No," Riley's face fell. "I genuinely want to make things right between us. I can't lose you, Lucas."

"Looks like you already did," Lucas scoffed.

"Please come back," Riley pleaded, her voice cracking.

"You don't get to make decisions about us anymore," Lucas said with a straight face. "I'm taking that scholarship."

"Come on, Lucas," Riley pleaded. "Don't go. Come back to New York. Be with me, with Sienna, our friends. I know you don't want to go to A&M."

"Who are you to tell me what I want?" Lucas's voice got louder. "You know I've always wanted to go to A&M."

Riley shook her head, "Not ever since you moved to New York and fell in love with the city." _And me_ , she thought.

"There's nothing more to say, Riley," Lucas sighed, looking down at his feet. Riley shook her head, hoping that he didn't really just say that. He then looked her in her brown, chocolate brown eyes. "I'm done."

"Fine," Riley bit her lip, maintaining eye contact with him. When she realized she couldn't get through to him, like she used to, she released a defeated sigh. She shook her head then got up and exited the house, holding her tears back.

Now Riley believed in a lot of things, in a lot of people, but she also knew when to give up on a lost cause. And this was one of them. She already fought for him, made her voice heard. None of that mattered, though. Lucas was done with her, and she couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

 **Last chapter is up next! While you all wait, why don't you go check out my latest Rucas oneshot, A Long Way to London, if you haven't already. As always, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter Ten

**Sorry it took a little longer than expected to get this up! Well, this is it.**

* * *

Chapter Ten

Riley couldn't believe she just embarrassed herself in front of Lucas like that. She laid out her feelings on the table for him, and he rejected her. She couldn't blame him though. She understood that betraying him was something he clearly wasn't going to get over. It was hard for Riley to even forgive herself.

She walked a couple of blocks to a nearby gas station where she waited for her Uber to come pick her up. She took in her surroundings. It was all so nostalgic to her. She remembered the first time she visited Texas with her friends, the time Lucas was forced to ride Tombstone the bull. He had relied so heavily on Riley's faith in him during that time. But not anymore. In fact, she was positive he completely lost faith in her. Why wouldn't he?

The whole ride back to the hotel, Riley stared out the window, watching the flowing landscapes. How could things have gone so wrong? She tried to clear her mind, tried to forget about the exchange that happened about an hour ago, but she couldn't. His words replayed in her head. _You don't get to make decisions about us anymore_. _I'm done_.

The moment Riley stepped out of the elevator, she found herself crying. She returned to her room in that state, if not worse. Sienna quickly attended to the brunette, anxious to hear what happened with Lucas. She didn't need to ask Riley to know that it didn't go so well. The crying said it all, the pain and heartache evident on Riley's face was all Sienna needed to see. Sienna frowned, offering Riley tissues to wipe her face with. She led her to one of the two beds in the room and tried to comfort her. It didn't work.

Ten minutes later and Riley couldn't cry anymore. Her eyes were noticeably bloodshot and she lost her breath. Sienna remained seated while Riley excused herself to the bathroom to recompose herself. She regulated her breathing, she took some eye drops to help with the redness. When Riley thought she was okay enough to at least force a smile on her face, she returned to sit with Sienna.

"Riley, what happened?" Sienna asked softly. She was unsure if Riley was ready to talk about things, but she looked okay so she took a chance on it.

"Well, when Lucas first answered the door, he slammed it in my face," Riley began. She sighed. She was never going to forget that moment. She knew that it would be etched in her mind forever, no matter how things turn out. It hurt her, him shutting her out. "Eventually with my obnoxious banging, he let me in."

"Okay, not off to a great start…" Sienna commented, her voice trailing off. "But hey, at least he let you in, right?"

Riley nodded. She explained the whole situation to Sienna, to which Sienna seemed very surprised to hear. She hadn't expected Lucas to react like that, and neither did Riley.

"I'm done, Sienna," Riley sighed. "Done."

Sienna understood why Riley felt the need to give up once more. But she couldn't give up. Not now. Sienna knew that Riley and Lucas would only be miserable without each other, she already experienced it firsthand. Why couldn't Lucas see that he was better off with Riley?

" _No_ ," Sienna rubbed Riley's back. "You're not."

"Yes," Riley insisted, she laughed dryly as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "I am."

"Nope," Sienna replied. "I won't let you be done."

"Why not?" Riley asked, irritated. "There's no use. I tried, Sienna. He's made up his mind. There's no way he's coming back to New York. I'm sorry."

"Oh, Riley," Sienna breathed. "You see the good in him, don't you?"

Riley nodded and replied sadly, "But he doesn't see the good in me anymore."

"Look," Sienna sighed. "We're here for another day. It can't hurt to try again. You never know. Maybe Lucas isn't in the right state of mind right now. But what I know is that Lucas loves you. I know you know that and I'm just saying it again. You can't give up on him so easily. Try again tomorrow. He'll probably calm down a bit from your conversation. And, if he still won't budge, we'll go back to New York and I'll help you get over it. At least if he's not there with me, you are. And I've grown really fond of you, Riley Matthews."

Riley lifted the corners of her mouth to form a small smile. "You're pretty awesome, you know that?"

"It's the Friar curse," she shrugged with a grin.

"You really think I should try again?" Riley asked.

"I know you should," Sienna assured her, placing a hand on Riley's forearm. "I've never seen two people so in love. What you two have is special. Lucas can't just throw all of that away. And if he does, he's not as smart as I thought."

"Okay," Riley breathed. "I'll go see him again tomorrow."

"Good!" Sienna gave Riley a hug.

"So then what are we going to do for the rest of the day?"

* * *

Sienna decided to cheer Riley up by taking her to her favorite places around town, as well as some tourist spots. They ended up having a late lunch at Chubbie's, which happened to be Lucas and Zay's favorite restaurant in town. Riley had been there multiple times during her previous trips, and she could never get enough of it. As the two waited for their food, a boy came up to their table.

"Sienna?" The boy said. He had shaggy blonde hair and a muscular body. Riley thought that his face looked awfully familiar to her, like she's seen him before. She wasn't sure where, though. She stared blankly at him as she tried to figure out who he was.

Sienna looked up at him and gasped, "Dylan!" She got up and hugged the boy before shifting over and offering him a seat, to which he gladly obliged.

Riley snapped her fingers as the name sunk into her head. "Dylan, that's it! I _knew_ you looked familiar." She remembered seeing him in pictures Lucas had shown her of his childhood. Lucas and Dylan were really close friends until Lucas moved to New York, where they eventually lost touch. Riley had no idea that Dylan knew Sienna. She turned to Sienna, "You two know each other?"

"Yeah," Sienna nodded with a smile. "I'm sure you know he was one of Lucas's best friends other than Zay. But he was the assistant coach for the girls' basketball team I was on before I left."

"I had no idea," Riley said with wide eyes.

"So you know who I am, and I don't want to seem impolite," Dylan began, "but who are you?"

"The name's Riley," she replied, putting her hand out towards him.

A light bulb went off in Dylan's head. He realized that this girl was the reason Lucas fell in love with New York City. He smirked and shook her hand, "Oh, so _you're_ Riley!"

"So you've heard about me?"

"Of course I have," Dylan nodded. "When Lucas first moved and before we drifted apart, he talked to me about you all the time." He added, "I had no idea how pretty you were though. Lucas never did care enough to send me photos."

"Oh, gee, thanks," Riley offered a warm smile. She didn't recall Lucas ever telling her this, how he used to tell Dylan about her when he first moved. She felt flattered, though.

Dylan returned the friendly smile. He looked between Riley and Sienna, "So what brings you two here? It's an awfully long way from New York City."

"Oh, we're here to see Lucas," Sienna replied nonchalantly. "Have you seen him around? He's here for the summer, you know."

"Yes, I know," Dylan nodded. "He's interning with me."

"Oh, is he?" Riley raised a brow. "He never mentioned that."

"Well, he's been extremely busy," Dylan said. "Barely has time to himself."

Riley sighed, "Yeah, I know."

"Um, does Lucas know you're here?" Dylan asked, directing his question to Riley. "I heard you two might've broken up."

"He told you that, huh?" Riley said. Dylan nodded. "Did he tell you why?"

Dylan shook his head, "Didn't want to get too personal. It's none of my business. You know he got a scholarship to A&M?"

"That's why we're here," Sienna revealed. "To convince him not to take it."

"What, why?" Dylan titled his head. "He's always wanted to go there since he was a little boy!"

"He's not a little boy anymore, Dylan," Riley said. "After he moved to New York, he changed his mind about it. Decided to do college in the city."

"But who are you to tell him what he wants to do with his life?" Dylan challenged. He didn't mean to come off as rude, he was just defending his old friend. If Lucas wanted to go to A&M, he should go to A&M.

"Whoa, you make her sound controlling," Sienna furrowed her brows. "She's not."

"She's not controlling, okay," Dylan said with a nod. "But you do have an effect on him, I can tell. You know, if someone was to talk to him out of taking the scholarship, it would be you. You're the reason he fell in love with New York, or so I've been told."

"I already tried, didn't work," Riley huffed.

"Lucas can be a bit stubborn."

* * *

When Zay didn't get an update from Riley like she promised, he decided to call his best friend. He figured that things had been worked out and the two had gotten back together. He was so wrong.

"Hey! How's my Sugar?" Zay greeted as soon as he realized Lucas picked up. He was at Topanga's, waiting for Maya to take her break so they could have lunch together.

"I'm great, Zay," Lucas replied, somewhat enthusiastically. "But I'm not too keen on that nickname."

"Oh, hush," Zay said. "You know I was talking about Riley."

"Riley?" Lucas scrunched his face, balancing his phone between his ear and shoulder as he played video games. "Why the hell would you be talking about Riley?"

"Watch your language," Zay commanded. "You know how fond I am of her."

"What do you want, Zay?" Lucas asked.

"Just checking in to see how the happy couple's doing," Zay replied nonchalantly.

"Happy couple?" Lucas narrowed his eyes. "Did you call the wrong person or something?"

"No, this is Lucas, right?" Zay quickly removed his phone from his ear and checked the screen to make sure it was Lucas he was talking to. It was. He put the phone back to his ear. "Didn't you and Riley make up?"

"What? No!" Lucas sat up in his seat and paused his video game. This conversation was getting more of his attention than the zombies he was killing. "Where did you hear that?"

"Riley told us she was going over there to get you back," Zay said. "She said she was going to keep me updated but I didn't hear from her so I assumed things were all good. So I called you. Because, you know, you're my best friend. And I care about you."

"Well, Riley did come over here," Lucas confirmed.

"But then?" Zay urged.

"I turned her away."

"Why?!" Zay responded a little too loudly, earning him strange looks from customers at the bakery. He smiled nervously and decided to continue the call outside on the steps. "Are you out of your mind, Friar?!"

Lucas shrugged, "I must be. I just can't do it anymore, Zay. Not after what she did."

"Do you not understand how _terrible_ she feels about the whole thing? She flew two thousand miles to see you," Zay explained. "Who does that?"

"Yeah, after she heard about my scholarship," Lucas muttered.

" _No_ ," Zay said, "after she heard that you weren't coming back to New York. She would've talked to you even if you didn't take that scholarship and you know it."

"She's only here because Sienna made her," Lucas huffed.

"She's there because she loves you," Zay countered. "Who else would fly across the country just to talk? Riley would. Because she loves you, and you love her. And you're using the scholarship as an excuse to avoid everything. You want to be with Riley and you know it."

"Shut up, Zay," Lucas shot back.

"You know I'm right," Zay smirked.

Lucas didn't say another word. Instead, he ended the call. He usually never hung up on Zay, and he knew he'd have to apologize for it later, but he just couldn't take it anymore. He had tried to forget about Riley ever since he got back to Texas, but today alone he had thousands of thoughts about her. It didn't help that she showed up at his doorstep. Maybe he needed to rethink the whole scholarship thing.

* * *

Lucas was having dinner with Pappy Joe, and he decided that it was an appropriate time to let him know about his decision about the scholarship. He had been thinking about it all day, and between Riley's visit and Zay's phone call, he didn't know what to do anymore. He knew Zay was right, that Riley's apology was genuine, but he couldn't get himself to forgive her, no matter how hard he tried.

"Pappy Joe, can I tell you something?" Lucas asked, not looking up from his plate.

"Of course, what is it?" Pappy Joe replied. He gave his full attention to his grandson.

"It's about the scholarship," Lucas admitted. He sighed and met Pappy Joe's gaze.

"Did you accept it yet?" Pappy Joe urged.

"Not yet, but I'm going to talk to them about it…" Lucas replied, his voice trailing off. "And um, I'm having second thoughts… I don't think I want to take it."

"What! Why not?" Pappy Joe gasped. It was a full scholarship to a really good school in the state. There was no reason for Lucas to turn it down. Unless he had a really good reason to. "It's one of the best schools in the state! It's Texas, it's home!"

"I love Texas, you know that," Lucas said. "But it doesn't feel like much of a home anymore. And I don't want to be stuck here for the next couple of years."

"But you've always wanted to go there," Pappy Joe reminded him with sad eyes.

"I did," Lucas confirmed. "But that was a long time ago. I've changed a lot since then. I know I'm stupid for wanting to give up an opportunity like that, especially the internship, but I really want to stay in New York. And I know if I work hard enough, I'll hopefully get more opportunities there. New York is my home now."

Pappy Joe raised a brow, "By any chance, did your prior decision have to do more with Riley and less with what I said to you?"

There was a pause. Lucas had to think about his answer. "Well, I do trust you, Pappy Joe, don't get me wrong. But I also think that I know what's good for myself. And yeah, sure, Riley's the reason I wanted to accept it, and she may be the reason I don't want to anymore…"

"What's with the sudden change of heart?" Pappy Joe asked. "I thought you two were over. Such a shame. I really like her."

"I really like her too," Lucas agreed with a long sigh.

"So what's the hold up?" Pappy Joe asked. "Why didn't you guys work things out?"

"She came over today," Lucas said nonchalantly, his attention back on his food.

"She did?" Pappy Joe raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect Riley to be in town. Not when she had a bakery to run back in New York.

"Yeah," Lucas nodded. "She wanted to talk."

"And?"

"I feel stupid, Pappy Joe," Lucas sighed. "I tried to hear her out but I couldn't. Every time I look at her all I can remember is that she kissed another guy. But deep down, I know she really meant it when she said the kiss meant nothing to her. I know she really meant all the things she said to me. Why else would she fly out here to talk things out? I know she made a mistake, but I think I made a mistake, too."

"Talk to her, boy," Pappy Joe encouraged. He saw the glimmer of hope in his grandson's eyes. Even though he knew that Lucas was still upset with what Riley did, Pappy Joe also knew that Lucas loved her so much that he'd get over it in time. He thought Lucas would be stupid to let her go.

Lucas swallowed and shook his head, "I don't think that's such a good idea. After all the things I said to her, I don't think she'll want to see me again. I think I broke her."

"Well, that's just even more reason to talk to her," Pappy Joe pointed out. "Make sure she's okay."

"Are you okay with me not going to A&M?" As much as Lucas wanted to make his decisions himself, he still wanted Pappy Joe to be supportive of him no matter what.

"I'm fine, Lucas," Pappy Joe assured him. "Who am I to dictate your future? You have the right to do that yourself. And whatever path you take, I know you're making the right decisions."

* * *

The next day, Sienna was informed by Lucas that he had a morning shift at the clinic but would be back by four, in case she wanted to stop by. But of course, she wasn't going to be the one stopping by, Riley would be.

Riley didn't sleep very well last night, not that she had any sleep the past few days. The thought of Lucas kept her awake. The fact that their future together was uncertain scared the crap out of her. She never planned on losing him, yet here he was, slowly slipping through her fingers. All she wanted was to kiss and make up.

She returned to Pappy Joe's house to see Lucas. She lifted her fist up and was about to knock on the door, but before her fist made contact, the door magically flew open. She was startled by this. And so was Lucas.

"Hi," Riley said with wide eyes.

"Um, Riley," Lucas once again didn't expect to see her at his door. "I was actually just about to go see you…"

"Really?" Riley asked, surprised.

"Yeah…" Lucas nervously chuckled.

"Can I come in?" Riley raised her eyebrows.

"Of course," Lucas said, gesturing for the brunette to enter into the living room.

Riley was surprised at how calm he seemed to be in her presence compared to how he acted yesterday. Had he been thinking a lot about them too?

"Why were you going to go see me?" Riley asked as she sat politely on the couch. Lucas sat inches beside her, a lot closer than they were yesterday. Riley was screaming with joy on the inside. On the outside, she tried to keep it cool.

"I think we have a bit of unfinished business we need to talk about from yesterday," Lucas said. He shrugged. "What are you doing here?"

"Same thing," Riley formed a line with her mouth. Lucas was about to say something, but Riley quickly interrupted. "Let me go first. Sienna convinced me to come and talk to you and try to see if I could change your mind about getting back together with me. Now I know it's a long shot but even though it may seem as if I kind of gave up on you a bit, that's so not the case. I have hope for us always. So that's why I'm here, because we both know I'm not the type of person to give up. Especially not on those who are—"

"I'm sorry," Lucas took a deep breath. After hearing what seemed to be the start of Riley's well-rehearsed speech, he couldn't wait any longer. She needed to know how he really felt. Not the feeling he thought he did when he suppressed his real ones.

"Excuse me, what?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me," Lucas shut his eyes. He took a deep breath. "That night. If I had known you were having a really hard time, I would've called. I would've been there for you, Riley. And I'm sorry I wasn't."

"Really?" Riley stared at him blankly, then shook her head. When she realized Lucas was in a state of vulnerability, she took her chances and cupped his face with her hands. The warmth of her touch was enough for Lucas to flutter his eyes open to meet her brown ones. "Lucas, really, you don't have to apologize for that. It's not your fault."

"I know," Lucas sighed. He covered her hand with his, caressing it with his thumb. Oh, how he missed her touch. "But I can't help but feel like I could've prevented all of this from happening."

"Don't ever think for a second that you had anything to do with it," Riley said. She peeled her hands off his face and folded them in her lap. She avoided his gaze. "You wanted that internship. And as much as I wanted to stop you, I couldn't. I couldn't get in the way of you and your dreams, Lucas." Riley knew Sienna would kill her for what she was about to say next, but who was she to get in the way of Lucas and his dreams? She took a deep breath before continuing, "And if you really want to go to A&M, you should go. With or without me in your life."

Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was she really encouraging him to take the scholarship? No way. He knew it was an empty gesture. There was no way she would be okay with that. He shook his head, disregarding her words for a second.

"Um, so I was thinking long and hard last night," Lucas began, looking down at his feet. "And I remembered this story you told me about your parents when they were seniors in high school. Uh, I believe it was on a ski trip. And your dad kissed a girl and your mom found out and it turned into this huge mess. But somehow, they worked it out. It reminded me of our situation. The only difference is that your dad kinda had feelings for the other girl and so they dated to see if there was anything there, and there wasn't. But you didn't date Evan. God, I hope you never do. But yeah, it was an empty kiss you had. A kiss, nonetheless, but empty. No feelings at all. On your side, anyway. And I'm still sorry you felt the need to find comfort in someone else because I wasn't there for you."

"Really, you don't have to apologize…" Riley whispered. As much as she loved how the conversation was going, she felt guilty that he thought any of it was his fault.

"Let me finish," Lucas raised an index finger to her lips. "Then I reminisced back onto our relationship. We've had a lot of good times, haven't we? A lot more than the bad. And so I thought, why should I leave the girl that I love with all my heart for one thing she's done wrong, when she's done so many other amazing things for me that no doubt outweigh that wrong? You've done so much good in my life, Riley. I don't think it's fair to punish the both of us for one wrong thing. People make mistakes, I get it. And I'm willing to look past that as long as it doesn't mean not having you in my life."

"What are you trying to say?" Riley was stunned by Lucas's little speech. Sure, she wanted to work things out with him, but she didn't expect him to say half the things he did. But still, she was glad he was able to look on the bright side of a really bad situation.

"I'm not taking the scholarship, Riles," he shook his head. He looked at her, but her gaze was focused on her hands. He sighed and lifted her chin with his finger, forcing her eyes to meet his. "When I made that decision, I wasn't in the right state of mind. You're right, I don't want to go to A&M anymore. Zay was right, I used it as an excuse to avoid my feelings, to avoid you. And I never want to do that."

"Zay?" Riley asked. "Did he call you?"

Lucas nodded.

"Gotta deal with him when I get back home," Riley muttered to herself.

"No, no," Lucas said, he placed a hand over hers. "He made me see things clearly. Don't get mad at him."

"For you, fine," Riley let a small smile escape from her lips. Lucas's heart fluttered. He missed seeing that smile of hers.

"I love you, Riley Matthews, and I think we should get back together," Lucas flipped over her hand and intertwined it with his. He looked up at her with hopeful eyes and a forgiving smile.

"Really?" Riley's eyes lit up. "You want to get back together?"

Lucas nodded. Riley happily brought up his hand in front of her face and pressed her lips onto his skin.

"I'll take that as a yes," Lucas chuckled. He released her hand and wrapped his arm around her instead, finally closing the space between them. He sighed contently as he squeezed her. Then he noticed the sad expression on her face. "Riley, what's wrong?"

"Lucas, I love you too," Riley replied. "But I still feel guilty about everything. There's one thing I gotta know, though."

"What is it?"

"Do you forgive me?" Riley bit her lip, unprepared for his answer.

"Honestly, I'm still not exactly over it," Lucas sighed, running hand through his hair. He then pulled Riley even closer to him, prompting her to rest her head on his shoulder. "But I know eventually I will forgive you. Because I love you and I know you'll find a way for me to trust you again. And I'd rather learn to forgive you and work things out rather than not have you in my life completely, especially when I know how much I mean to you. We'll take baby steps, but I know we can get back to the way we were."

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed! I tried to keep the ending as ambiguous as possible but of course I had to get them back together. As always, your support is always appreciated!**

 **And again, if you're interested, my next Rucas fic should be up in a couple of days if not sooner. It's a lot lighter than this one.**


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